Newest Pa. gubernatorial poll shows Tom Wolf gaining steam in Tom Corbett's deficit
Respondents of a new Franklin & Marshall College poll had vastly different opinions of Gov. Tom Corbett, left, and Democratic challenger Tom Wolf, right, (File photo PennLive)
Christina Kauffman |
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on July 02, 2014 at 5:00 AM, updated July 02, 2014 at 5:01 AM
The campaign to re-elect Gov. Tom Corbett has another ugly picture to hang on the wall, after a poll released Wednesday painted the latest dismal portrait of voter sentiment for the incumbent Republican.
This Franklin & Marshall College survey of registered voters is the most recent in a series of post-primary polls, showing the governor with low job approval and lagging behind his Democratic challenger, York County businessman Tom Wolf.
Only 26 percent of voters polled said Corbett deserves a second term. And if the general election had been held the day pollsters interviewed the 502 respondents, Corbett would've lost the election with 25 percent of the vote to Wolf's 47 percent. The group of undecided voters — 27 percent — exceeded Corbett's take of the crowd.
"The situation [Corbett] faces is pretty simple to explain," said poll director G. Terry Madonna, who's also director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs. "He needs to find some successes to take to the voters this fall. Typically governors seeking re-election have a panoply of successes on which to go back to the voters. You don't want to go back to the voters and say, 'I didn't do A, B or C, but let me try again.'"
But Madonna said Corbett can share some blame in the failure to achieve his priorities, including privatization of the state's liquor stores and pension reform. The GOP has majority control in the House and Senate, but the Senate hasn't passed a privatization bill. And the House on Tuesday just sent the governor's preferred pension-reform bill back to committee despite Corbett holding up budget approval to try to get it passed.
"He needs big victories to take to his voters — and his own party isn't helping him," Madonna said.
Little is easy in a House divided among tea partyers, moderate Republicans and Democrats, he said.
Only 30 percent of 502 respondents polled June 23-29 felt the state was "headed in the right direction," while 59 percent said it was "on the wrong track," according to the poll from the Lancaster college.
More voters in the poll found Corbett "strongly unfavorable" at 34 percent than the combined number of those who found him "strongly favorable" at 8 percent and "somewhat favorable," 19 percent.
That compares with 35 percent of voters who found Wolf either somewhat or strongly favorable and 12 percent who found him strongly or somewhat unfavorable.
Voters still seem to be wrapping their heads around Wolf, as 52 percent of respondents said they were undecided or didn't know how they felt about the Democrat. Only 14 percent hadn't decided or didn't know what to say about Corbett.
"Wolf right now is the beneficiary of hugely positive voter reaction to his primary campaign, and he comes out of it with advantages," Madonna said. "He doesn't face the downside of being a politician now."
But Madonna said the poll numbers are "mostly about Corbett."
"If Corbett had a 50 percent positive job performance, he wouldn't be behind by 22 points," Madonna said, noting Corbett posted the lowest job performance for any incumbent governor in modern history.
Madonna said the June poll was also the first time voters chose education to overtake jobs and economy-related issues for the title of biggest problem facing the state.
Corbett campaign spokesman Chris Pack said the governor has suffered a perceived lack of education funding since a billion dollars in federal stimulus money ran out.
He said Corbett does have accomplishments to which he can point, including the unemployment rate decreasing from 8.2 percent to 5.6 percent during his first term.
Pack attributed the dismal poll numbers to the Corbett campaign "not really heating up yet."
"We've only heard from Wolf ... in his commercials," Pack said. "It'll turn around. You'll see it get more heated after the [state] budget is done."
But Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said voters polled were responding to Corbett's record, "which speaks for itself."
"He's been governor for almost four years now," Sheridan said. "He has a record to run on — and that's the record."