Voters in Fla., Ohio and Pa. favor legalizing marijuana for personal use

A majority of voters in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania support allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use, according to polling released Wednesday.

Fifty-six percent of Florida voters, 52 percent of Ohio voters and 57 percent of Pennsylvania voters all support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use, according to the polling from Quinnipiac University.

“The most liberal of the three big swing states on the issue, Pennsylvanians give a big thumbs up to small amounts of marijuana in the hands of adults,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Majorities of voters in all three states also said the U.S. Senate should consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Fifty-four percent of Florida voters, 56 percent of Ohio voters and 58 percent of Pennsylvania voters said the Senate should consider Judge Garland’s nomination.

A majority of voters in both Florida and Pennsylvania said they approve of Mr. Obama’s nomination of Judge Garland, with a plurality of Ohio voters — 47 percent to 33 percent — saying they approve.

Republicans have said they do not plan to hold hearings or a vote on the nomination in an election year, and have said the next president should fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Still, a majority of voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania said the fact that incumbent GOP Sens. Rob Portman and Pat Toomey support waiting for the next president to pick a nominee makes no difference as to whether they’ll vote for the two candidates, who are both up for re-election this year.

Fifty-six percent of Ohio voters said it makes no difference, while 15 percent said it makes them more likely to vote for Mr. Portman and 27 percent said less likely.

Fifty-one percent of Pennsylvania voters said Mr. Toomey’s position makes no difference in their vote, with 18 percent saying it makes them more likely to vote for him and 30 percent saying less likely.

The poll showed the U.S. Senate races in the three states to be closely contested.

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland led Mr. Portman by 1 point, 43 percent to 42 percent, and Mr. Toomey had a 1-point, 45 percent to 44 percent, lead over Democrat Katie McGinty.

In Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio opted to run for president rather than seek re-election to the Senate, and the race has attracted multiple candidates on both sides thus far.

The biggest lead in the poll was Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy’s 6-point, 38 percent to 32 percent, lead over Republican Carlos Beruff.

Republicans Todd Wilcox, Rep. David Jolly and Rep. Ron DeSantis all had 2-point leads in match-ups against Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera is also running on the Republican side.