Ohio voters don't back Trump's false claims about Haitian immigrants, poll says

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Although former President Donald Trump holds an edge over Vice President Kamala Harris in Ohio, a majority of voters in the state do not believe the false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are "eating people's pets," a new poll shows.

About 57% of Ohio voters said the debunked comments are probably or definitely false, while 24% said Trump's claim is probably or definitely true, according to a new Washington Post poll that surveyed 1,002 likely Ohio voters. The poll comes after Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have pushed untrue claims about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, even as local officials have said there is no evidence for such claims.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there," said Trump during a debate with Harris on Sept. 10.

About 55% of Ohio voters said they back Gov. Mike DeWine's assertion that Trump's claim is not true, and that those Haitian immigrants are in the state legally. Still, about 4 in 10 Ohio voters, about 42%, said Haitian immigrants in the state make the communities they live in worse, while 32% said they make them better.

Trump has said he would deport Ohio's Haitian immigrants if elected, vowing to revoke the migrants' temporary status that allows them to remain in Springfield legally. Trump said that, in his opinion, "it's not legal" and that Springfield has "been overrun."

"Absolutely, I'd revoke it, and I'd bring them back to their country," Trump said in an interview with NewsNation's Ali Bradley at a Texas fundraising event. "They'll receive them. If I bring them back, they're going to receive them."

Even through the Springfield controversy, the poll found Trump holds a six-point advantage, 51% to 45%, over Harris among likely Ohio voters, which is similar to his eight-point winning margin over President Biden four years ago. Ohio voters have a more favorable view of Trump, at 47%, compared to an unfavorable rating of 46%. Ohio's view of Harris is reversed, with an unfavorable rating of 51% compared to 43% favorable.

Vance holds the state's highest favorable rating at 49%, compared to an unfavorable of 42%. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, holds a favorable view of 42% to an unfavorable of 43%.

Meanwhile, voters are about evenly split in Ohio's U.S. Senate race, with 48% supporting Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and 47% supporting Republican Bernie Moreno. Voters said Brown has a lead on handling issues, like abortion, health care and helping the middle class, while Moreno has an edge on immigration, taxes and crime.

Voters prefer Brown to Moreno by 13 points to handle abortion, after Ohio approved a measure last November to establish the right to abortion in the state constitution. Still, Moreno holds an advantage in that 51% of Ohio voters want Republicans to control the U.S. Senate, compared to 42% who wants Democrats to control the chamber.

Brown is more popular than Moreno, with 45% rating the Democratic senator favorably and 42% unfavorably. Moreno's image is underwater, with 37% favorable and 46% unfavorable. The poll also found that Black voters in Ohio favor Brown by 72% to 24% for Moreno, similar to Harris’s margin over Trump, 70% to 24%.