F&M Poll: Corbett Numbers Remain Low

Member Group : G. Terry Madonna & Michael Young

Franklin & Marshall College Poll

The 23rd year of consecutive polling in Pennsylvania

Below are the highlights of the October, 2013, Franklin & Marshall College Poll of Pennsylvania voters. Complete results can be found at [L]http://politics.fandm.edu[EL]

• Only one in four registered voters (25%) think Pennsylvania is headed in the right direction.

• Nearly one in four (22%) registered voters believes unemployment and the economy is the state’s most important problem, followed closely by schools and school funding (21%).

• One in five (19%) registered Pennsylvania voters believes Governor Tom Corbett is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as governor, which is similar the ratings he received in the August 2013, Franklin & Marshall College Poll. Only one in three (34%) Republicans rate his performance as "excellent" or "good."

• Only one in five (20%) voters believes Governor Corbett has performed sufficiently well to deserve re-election. Few Democrats (7%) or independent voters (19%) believe he deserves re-election, but, surprisingly, less than half (37%) of Republicans do.

• As many registered Republicans believe the Governor should step aside (44%) so another Republican can represent the party in the 2014 election as believe he should run again (42%).

• Two in five (39%) registered Pennsylvania voters believe President Obama is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as President, which is higher than his August ratings. The government shutdown appears to have helped the President’s job approval ratings in the state, but does not seem to have made a significant difference for the other officials tested.
• Nearly two in three (64%) registered voters favor increasing the number of state residents who are eligible for the state’s Medicaid program. Support is even higher (72%) for the state’s proposed Medicaid expansion program that includes the use of private insurance companies and work requirements.More Pennsylvania registered voters believe the Affordable Care Act should be kept (50%) than repealed (40%).

This survey reflect interviews with 628 Pennsylvania registered voters conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College from October 22-27, 2013 (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/Penn Live, Lancaster Newspapers and the Reading Eagle. It may be used in whole or in part, provided any use is attributed to Franklin & Marshall College.