A new poll finds Gov. Tom Corbett is stacking up poorly against real and potential Democratic challengers in the 2014 gubernatorial election.
The Quinnipiac University survey of more than 12,000 registered voters pegs the governor’s disapproval rating at 47 percent, with 38 percent of those surveyed approving of his job performance.
Senate Democratic leader Jay Costa said although some argue the governor has time to buff up his image, the results are far from meaningless.
"It’s a clear indication that the direction this governor has led this state the past two years now is in the wrong direction," Costa said. "I think people are much more interested in issues that he’s not interested in."
Another top senator from the Republican side of the aisle downplayed the importance of polls this early before the election. Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati said it’s not Corbett’s policies that are landing him with low approval ratings; it’s that his office isn’t “connecting the dots” between the popular decisions he has made.
"I think the governor has a huge success story to tell — you can’t just tell it once," Scarnati said. "You have to tell it again and again and again."
The poll finds three Democratic challengers would easily beat Corbett if the gubernatorial election were a day away, instead of a year-and-a-half.
Just one of those three has announced her candidacy for governor – Democratic Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.
But two others who are said to be mulling a challenge also carried the support of polled voters – former Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak and state Treasurer Rob McCord.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
