Franklin & Marshall Poll

Member Group : G. Terry Madonna & Michael Young

Findings from the Latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll

Franklin & Marshall College Poll

The 25th consecutive year of polling in Pennsylvania

Below are the highlights of the January 2016, Franklin & Marshall College Poll of registered Pennsylvania voters. Complete results can be found at http://www.fandm.edu/fandmpoll

• Almost seven in ten (67%) voters believe the state is "on the wrong track," up from 62% in October, and two in five (38%) say that government and politicians are the biggest problems facing the state.

• More voters hold the state legislature (52%) than the governor (32%) responsible for the state’s late budget, which remains unchanged since October, although similar proportions trust the governor (42%) and the state legislature (39%) to make final decisions about the state budget, also unchanged from October.

• Only 15% of voters give the state legislature a positive job performance, "excellent or good".

• One in three (33%) registered Pennsylvania voters believes Governor Wolf is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as governor, which is a decrease from the October (36%) and August (39%) polls.

• Two in five (41%) Pennsylvania voters believe President Obama is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as President, which is about the same as in recent surveys.

• Hillary Clinton still holds a sizable lead (46%) over Bernie Sanders (29%) among registered Democrats in Pennsylvania.

• Donald Trump leads the Republican primary field in Pennsylvania with 24%. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio trail at 14% and 11%, respectively.

• A large percentage (61%) of Pennsylvania voters is undecided in the Democratic primary contest for the U.S. Senate. Joe Sestak narrowly leads Katie McGinty, 17% to 13%, with John Fetterman at 6%.

• A large majority (88%) favor a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers, including those who purchase guns at gun shows or online. Similar percentages (85%) favor efforts to include more information about a citizen’s mental health into the background check system.

This survey reflects interviews with 732 Pennsylvania registered voters conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College from January 18-24, 2016 (sample error of +/-3.6 % 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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