Below are the highlights of the September 2014, Franklin & Marshall College Poll of Pennsylvania voters. Complete results can be found at http://politics.fandm.edu.
• A majority (60 percent) of Pennsylvania voters believe the state is “off on the wrong track.”
• In the governor’s race, Democratic candidate Tom Wolf holds a 20 percentage point lead over Republican Tom Corbett among likely voters, 54 percent to 34 percent, with 12 percent indicating they “don’t know.” Among registered voters Wolf’s margin is similar, 49 percent to 31 percent, with 19 percent undecided.
• More than four in five (84 percent) registered voters have seen a commercial for a gubernatorial candidate. Of those who have seen a commercial, 90 percent have seen a commercial for both candidates. Only ten percent of voters who have seen a commercial indicate they have changed their mind about which candidate to support.
• Regardless of how a voter planned to vote, 58 percent believe Tom Wolf will win the election, while only 19 percent believe Tom Corbett will win.
• Education (26 percent) and the economy (14 percent) are the issues voters say are most important to them in considering who to support for governor.
• Slightly more than one in four (28 percent) registered voters believe Governor Tom Corbett is doing an “excellent” or “good” job, which is similar (24 percent) to the ratings he received in the August 2014, Franklin & Marshall College Poll. Half (50 percent) of Republicans rate his performance as “excellent” or “good” which is an improvement since August.
• Three in ten registered voters (30 percent) believe Governor Corbett has performed sufficiently well to deserve re-election.
• About one in three (31 percent) registered Pennsylvania voters believe Barack Obama is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president which is similar to his August rating.
This survey reflects interviews with 520 Pennsylvania registered voters conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College from September 15-22, 2014 (sample error of +/- 4.3 percentage points).
The Franklin & Marshall College Poll is produced in conjunction with the Philadelphia Daily News, WGAL-TV (South Central PA), Pittsburgh Tribune Review, WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh), WPVI-TV6/ABC (Philadelphia), Times-Shamrock Newspapers, Harrisburg Patriot-News/Penn Live, Lancaster Newspapers and the Reading Eagle.
Leave a Comment