COLUMBUS — Ohio voters are split on their support for Gov. John Kasich, but back his plan to raise oil and gas taxes to offset an income tax cut two-to-one, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

In March, Kasich proposed raising taxes on materials extracted from the ground and using that revenue to offset an across-the-board income tax cut. Republican lawmakers shelved the proposal indefinitely, but that hasn’t prevented the governor from selling his plan.

Ohio voters support adding more severance taxes by 55 to 35 percent and support Kasich’s plan 60 to 32 percent. The poll surveyed 1,069 registered Ohio voters on landlines and cell phones from May 2-7. The poll has a 3 percentage point margin of error.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the poll shows Ohioans see the benefit of reducing income taxes.

“In Ohio, income tax is a hindrance to growth, is a hindrance to job creation. This is a unique opportunity to drive down the income tax,” Nichols said.

Critics of the plan say the income tax would most benefit high-earning Ohioans and revenue from an energy tax increase should help fund public services such as education and law enforcement. Zach Schiller, researcher at left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio, said the results might be skewed because the question didn’t tell people how much they would actually save.

Schiller said taxpayers in the middle of five income brackets would save, on average, $42 a year when the tax was fully implemented.

“The poll confirmed that most Ohioans agree we need a stronger tax on oil and gas,” Schiller said. “People can only make a limited conclusion when people are not presented with the full information on what that would mean for them.”

Fifty-four percent of all voters surveyed said they see Kasich as a strong leader, which is a positive mark on the governor’s low polling history since taking office in January 2011.

“Being a strong leader, for a politician, is the Holy Grail,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “They may not love him, but they think he’s a strong leader... that gives him something to work with.”

More Ohioans think the state’s economy has improved under Kasich than in January, 28 to 19 percent, respectively, which Brown said is reflected in the high ratings voters gave quality of life in Ohio.

The percent of voters who say they are satisfied with the way things are going in Ohio increased to 51 percent — twice as high as the all-time low of 29 percent in October 2011.