send to a friend | print | comment
Corbett leads Republicans in new guv poll and Dems in tight race; Rendell approval slips
Reflecting his strong name recognition from two statewide election victories, Attorney General Tom Corbett holds a significant lead over his Republican rivals in the race for governor, according to a new poll. But the Democratic primary is in a statistical dead heat, giving even more reason for other candidates to consider jumping into the contest.
The Quinnipiac University poll released today, which also gave lame-duck Gov. Ed Rendell his lowest apporval ratings to date, showed Corbett netting 38 percent of the vote among registered Republicans if the primary were held today. Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) followed with 15 percent of the vote, and former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan had 9 percent of the vote. Thirty-seven percent were undecided.
“Corbett begins the race ahead and with a sizeable edge,” said Peter Brown, Quinnipiac Polling Institute’s assistant director.
On the Democratic side, things are much murkier. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and state Auditor General Jack Wagner, both from Pittsburgh, are tied with 16 percent of the vote among registered Democrats. Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox trails narrowly with 13 percent of the vote, but more than half of the primary electorate is undecided. Other Democrats not in the poll are also considering the race, including Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty and Montgomey County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.
Mired in the most contentious budget negotiations of his administration, Rendell is now viewed favorably by only 39 percent of voters, down from a high of 61 percent two years ago, according to the poll. The state legislature is faring even worse, with only 27 percent of voters approving of its performance.
The survey of 1,173 Keystone State voters, conducted July 14-19, had a margin of error of 2.9 percent, but a larger margin of error of 4.3 percent for questions on the gubernatorial primary.
Click here to download the poll, and log-on to pa2010.com thorughout the day for more coverage.
July 21, 2009 at 7:27 am
Tags: Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner, Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Tom Corbett, Tom Knox
Leave a Reply
pa2012.com blogs
Red in a Sea of Blue
Purple in Pennsylvania
The Latest from @pa2012 news
More UpdatesStay connected with pa2012.com:
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
GOPHAWK
Jul 21st, 2009
I am delighted with our prosecutor’s position in the Q poll but I am puzzled. The Q poll has basically an equal number of Ds and Rs. We all know that Ds have a huge registration edge in Pa. When the question comes to who you will vote for next year we look like we have a shot but is the poll rigged to set us up for a fall down the road?
Big Guy
Jul 21st, 2009
I think Allyson Schwartz should run for Governor. She’d win the primary in a walk.
David Diano
Jul 21st, 2009
GOPHawk-
The poll is using the same numbers of Dems and Republicans because it is trying to gauge THE PRIMARIES!!
They aren’t doing general election matchups., though they are taking an early snapshot of strength of party affiliation.
The only “problem” stat is the M/F numbers with party combined. Those stats should be done with a sample that is proportional to the Dem/Rep registration.
Other than that, nothing appears “rigged”.
GOPHAWK
Jul 21st, 2009
OK. But what about the Gov’s approval numbers and the issue findings? Aren’t they overstated by the fact that equal numbers of Rs and Ds are in the survey?
Dem Girl
Jul 23rd, 2009
Hey GOPHAWK, don’t worry about anything being rigged – I’m a registered DEM and I’m voting for Corbett so the numbers may seem off but DEMS don’t always vote straight party tickets – and get this I’m from Allegheny County. There is a lot of talk about Corbett in my circle so I think you might be pleasantly surprised!
Anonymous
Jul 28th, 2009
Corbett needs to raise money and get a serious first rate Lt. Gov to close the deal…from the SE, rumors are flying from Meehan going (although 7th Congressional makes more sense) to Carol Aichele announcing and Joe Watkins looking hard and hopeful for the 2nd slot.