F&M Poll: Toomey Leads Sestak and McGinty

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Franklin & Marshall College Poll

The 24th year of consecutive polling in Pennsylvania

Below are the highlights of the August 2015, Franklin & Marshall College Poll of registered Pennsylvania voters. Complete results can be found at http://www.fandm.edu/politics/the-franklin-marshall-college-poll.

• Fewer than half (46%) of registered voters believe Attorney General Kathleen Kane should resign while the criminal case against her works its way through the criminal justice system. More Republicans (54%) and Independents (47%) than Democrats (40%) believe she should resign her position.

• Two in five (39%) registered Pennsylvania voters believe Governor Tom Wolf is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as governor, which is unchanged since June.

• More registered voters hold the state legislature (54%) than the governor (29%) responsible for the state’s late budget, although similar proportions trust the governor (42%) and the state legislature (39%) to make final decisions about the state budget.

• About two in three (66%) voters believe state lawmakers should not be paid during budget negotiations when the budget is late, a sentiment that is consistently expressed across parties.

• Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey’s positive job performance ratings have improved since June, rising from 34% "excellent" or "good" to 40%.

• Toomey currently leads Democrat Joe Sestak by a 12-point margin, 41% to 29%. He has increased his lead from the June poll where he led Sestak 35% to 31%. Senator Toomey’s lead over Katie McGinty is smaller—he leads her by 7-points, 35% to 28%.

• In the Senate Democratic primary contest, Joe Sestak holds a narrow lead over Katie McGinty,16% to 13% but 66% of voters are undecided.

• Two in five (38%) registered Pennsylvania voters believe President Obama is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as president, which is about the same as in recent surveys.

This survey reflects interviews with 605 Pennsylvania registered voters conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College from August 17-23, 2015 (sample error of +/- 3.9% 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/PennLive, LNP media group, and the Reading Eagle. It may be used in whole or in part, provided any use is attributed to the college

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