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The Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate set to visit Marietta today has pulled even in the polls with Gov. Ted Strickland, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University poll finds Strickland's job approval rating has slipped and puts the Democrat even with Republican challenger John Kasich in the 2010 race.

Kasich, a former congressman and Fox News host, is slated to stop today at the Marietta Noon Rotary meeting, conduct a public meet-and-greet at Fine Art and Framing Gallery on Front Street and attend a cocktail reception fundraiser at The Galley on Second Street.

Leslie Haas, Kasich's Washington County chairwoman, said there is an unusual amount of excitement for a race that has barely begun.

"Mr. Kasich hasn't been in the political arena for several years and he's been off Fox News for a while, and we were concerned we may have some work to do on name recognition," Haas said. "I'm thrilled to hear he has pulled neck and neck, but really it may be too early for the polls to mean much of anything. But again, when a challenger pulls even with a seated governor this early, that may mean something."

The poll shows that if an election for Ohio governor were held today, 40 percent would go with Strickland and 40 percent would vote for Kasich, with 18 percent undecided.

When the question was first posed in February, 56 percent of respondents favored Strickland, compared to 26 percent for Kasich and 16 percent undecided.

"This race is about Ted Strickland," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a news release. "Because so few voters have a firm fix on Kasich, the campaign is likely to be a race to define him in the eyes of most voters."

The poll showed 69 percent of respondents said they didn't know enough about Kasich to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion.

"That will mean the Strickland campaign will be trying to convince those seven in 10 voters who don't know enough about Kasich that he isn't their kind of guy," Brown said.

Nearly 45 percent of Ohio voters say Strickland is doing a good job, down from 48 percent in a similar poll released in September. Forty-three percent disapprove of how the governor is handling things, according to the poll of 1,123 registered Ohio voters.

By a 2-to-1 margin, Strickland carried Washington County in the 2006 election over Republican candidate Ken Blackwell. Local voters cast 14,763 votes for Strickland and 7,285 for Blackwell. Statewide, Strickland earned 60 percent of the votes in that election.

Oak Grove resident Carla Mitchell, 59, said she was a Strickland supporter in 2006. Today, she said she would likely favor Kasich.

Attempts to legalize video slot machines at racetracks to fill gaps in the state's budget earlier this year were among the concerns Mitchell cited of Strickland.

"I'm not real thrilled with (Strickland) right now," Mitchell said. "I'm pretty conservative and when it comes to fiscal issues, he doesn't seem to represent me much."

Mitchell said she has followed Kasich's career and that he seems to be more in line with her political viewpoints.

"I've listened to him on Fox News and I actually like him," she said. "He seems very conservative."

Dottie Morris, 64, of Marietta, said she continues to support Strickland.

"This whole (economic) mess was put into motion well before he ever took office," she said. "You can't fault him for that. And I believe he has done his best and I still believe I made the right choice (in voting for him)."

Morris said she isn't a supporter of gambling, but that she would rather see the state try it before raising taxes.

"He's had nothing but tough decisions to make and I doubt anyone else would be doing any better," she said.

Molly Varner, Washington County Democratic chairwoman, said Strickland has worked hard to keep the economy in Ohio from being worse.

"The election for governor is exactly a year away, and we all know a lot can happen in a year," she said. "This economy can turn around and reflect the hard work (Strickland) has put into getting things redirected in Ohio. I know the economy does a lot on its own, but I think governors can foster or deflect jobs, too."