BEREA, Ohio - A new poll from Baldwin Wallace University has the latest data on where voters stand on the candidates and issues in Ohio.

Data from this poll shows Valley Congressman, Tim Ryan leading against his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance by four points for the U.S. Senate race, which mirrors the margin of error.

In the Gubernatorial race, Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine is showing a much more commanding lead over his Democratic opponent, Nan Whaley, leading the race by 17 points.

In terms of specific demographics, poll results show that DeWine and Ryan are outperforming their competitors among independents and women. 

Among independents, DeWine has a commanding 33-point lead over Whaley. Ryan, however has a less commanding lead of about seven points over Vance among independents. 

Among women, Baldwin Wallace University (BWU) Political Science Professor, Dr. Tom Sutton says a majority of women and a supermajority of men prefer DeWine for governor. 

"The gender gap is much more pronounced in the Senate race where women favor Ryan by 17 points," Dr. Sutton said.

The study shows that voters' views on candidates through the issues they care about don't toe party lines. Data shows Ryan is doin better than fellow Democratic candidate Whaley among voters concerned about inflation.

Poll data shows that Ryan's voter base have given equal weight to the major issues with 26% voting for him for his stance on abortion rights, 24% voting for him on his stance on preserving democracy and another 24% voting based on his stance on inflation.

When it comes to DeWine's voter base, BWU Political Science Professor, Dr. Lauren Copeland says DeWine has the incumbency advantage with more people knowing who he is due to him already being Ohio's governor.

Poll data shows less than 2% of voters didn't know who DeWine was versus 18% of voters who didn't know who Whaley was.

"DeWine has been elected to statewide office multiple times and enjoys extraordinarily high levels of name recognition. The Senate race is much tighter because it's an open seat," Dr. Copeland said.

In terms of the Ohio Supreme Court race, Republicans led with respondents favoring Justice Sharon Kennedy by seven points over her Democratic opponent Justice Jennifer Brunner. 

Incumbent justices, Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine led their Democratic Opponents, Terri Jamison and Marilyn Zayas by eight and seven points respectively. 

Dr. Sutton says this will be the first Ohio Supreme Court Election where party affiliation is placed on the ballot. 

"The state's highest court can have an important say when it comes to issues like abortion, redistricting and LGBTQ+ rights, and party affiliation provides voters with an information shortcut," Dr. Sutton said.

The poll consisted of 1,013 likely voters and was conducted between October 20 and October 23.