Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s mid-term approval rating is the lowest it’s been since last June. A Quinnipiac University poll finds 42 percent of registered voters disapprove of the way the governor is handling his job, while 36 percent approve of his efforts.
“By nearly a two-to-one margin, Pennsylvanians do not want him to be re-elected,” said pollster Tim Malloy. “We didn’t poll why, but those are just the numbers. But he’s kind of done a roller coaster for the last six months or so, but these are discouraging numbers.”
The survey also did not ask about Corbett’s chances against other candidates in the 2014 gubernatorial election, but Malloy said Corbett’s re-election chances are questionable. 51 percent of respondents say the governor shouldn’t get a second term in office, compared to just 31 percent of those who say he should.
“And he (Corbett) has no great support in any demographic groups, no great support among women. He’s pretty much across the board underwater,” said Malloy.
Only one Democrat has made a formal bid for the seat – former state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger, but several others from both parties say they’re considering entering the race.
Malloy also notes Corbett received no bump in the polls due to his lawsuit against the NCAA, despite the fact that 43 percent of respondents approve of it. The governor is suing the governing body of collegiate athletics to overturn sanctions against Penn State’s football program for the university’s role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
The survey of more than 12-hundred registered voters was conducted last week, with a margin of error of plus or minus two-point-eight percent.
