Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania voters waiting to decide on new governor; most back Rendell–gamblers should lose at home

Posted by Anthony Ditter on Feb 14, 2011
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Although the largest share of Pennsylvania registered voters, 50 percent, don’t yet have an opinion of Gov. Tom Corbett’s job performance, the new governor gets a 39 – 11 percent approval rating from those who do have an opinion, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

But by a 53 – 33 percent margin, voters don’t believe Gov. Corbett can keep his promise to balance the budget without raising taxes, similar to a 55 – 31 percent finding in a December survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Voters agree overwhelmingly, 69 – 26 percent, with former Gov. Ed Rendell that the Commonwealth is better off that gambling addicts spend their money in Pennsylvania rather than elsewhere. By a narrow 51 – 46 percent margin, voters support increasing legalized gambling in the state to help meet the budget deficit.

“Gov. Corbett is off to a good start. Although half the electorate doesn’t have an opinion of him, among those who have an opinion more than three times as many approve of what he has done so far than who disapprove,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “His challenge will be to keep that ratio of support as he gets more detailed about how he’ll deal with the state government’s shortfall when he releases his budget next month.”

Not surprisingly, Corbett’s strongest support is among Republicans who approve of his performance 57 – 4 percent, while independent voters approve 40 – 13 percent. Although 57 percent of Democrats don’t have an opinion about him, he has a 27 – 16 percent approval rating among those who do. Corbett has a small gender gap as men approve 41 – 11 percent while women approve 37 – 12 percent.

Corbett does not need to convince voters that the state’s budget problems are real: 61 percent say the state’s budget woes are “very serious,” while 34 percent say “somewhat serious,” an unusually large percentage.

“You probably can’t get 95 percent of people to agree that motherhood and apple pie are good things,” said Brown.

But when it gets to potential solutions, voters are much less supportive. The one idea they strongly favor is selling state liquor stores, an idea they support 65 – 26 percent. But they oppose or are divided on other budget-cutting ideas under discussion in Harrisburg:
  • Voters oppose 51 – 36 percent selling or leasing the Pennsylvania turnpike to raise cash;
  • They oppose raising taxes 63 – 33 percent;
  • They support 52 – 40 percent laying off state workers.
“Pennsylvania voters may agree on the severity of the problem, but there is nowhere near that kind of agreement about the solutions,” said Brown. “They like the idea of selling the liquor stores the most and raising taxes the least.”

The narrow 51 – 46 percent voter support for increasing legalized gambling as a way to reduce the red ink reflects a strong majority, 64 – 29 percent, who call gambling a “good thing.”

“While voters say 54 – 39 percent that legalized slot machine gambling in Pennsylvania is creating new gamblers, they agree with Gov. Ed Rendell, who defended the expansion of legal gambling on his watch, that gambling addicts might as well lose their money in the Commonwealth,” Brown said.

Voters are optimistic, 65 – 23 percent, including 51 – 32 percent among Democrats, of the next four years with the Republican as governor.

A total of 47 percent of Pennsylvania voters are “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the way things are going in the state, up from a 37 percent “satisfaction” December 15.

From February 8 – 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,366 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as Governor? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Approve 39% 57% 27% 40% 41% 37% 32% Disapprove 11 4 16 13 11 12 18 DK/NA 50 40 57 48 48 52 50 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Approve 39% 38% 37% 36% 35% 45% 42% Disapprove 13 10 9 13 14 8 11 DK/NA 48 52 55 51 52 47 48
5. Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with Tom Corbett as Governor? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Optimistic 65% 86% 51% 63% 62% 68% 65% Pessimistic 23 7 32 26 26 20 31 DK/NA 12 7 16 11 12 13 5 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Optimistic 59% 56% 72% 59% 66% 71% 71% Pessimistic 28 29 23 25 22 16 18 DK/NA 13 14 5 16 12 14 11
TREND: Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with Tom Corbett as Governor? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Optimistic 65 59 Pessimistic 23 27 DK/NA 12 14
13. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Pennsylvania today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Very satisfied 4% 3% 4% 6% 4% 5% 4% Smwht satisfied 43 43 50 36 43 44 44 Smwht dissatisfied 36 36 34 37 36 35 36 Very dissatisfied 15 16 10 18 15 14 14 DK/NA 2 2 1 3 2 2 2 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Very satisfied 5% 3% 1% 6% 8% 4% 3% Smwht satisfied 41 49 52 45 35 39 42 Smwht dissatisfied 31 36 32 36 38 33 39 Very dissatisfied 21 8 13 12 17 22 13 DK/NA 2 5 2 1 2 2 1
TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Pennsylvania today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? (*Low also 39% Sep 2009) 

 VERY+SMWHT SAT. High Low Feb 16 Dec 15 Jul 13 Apr 08 Mar 03 Jun 05 Mar 03 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2002 2010* 

 Very satisfied 4 2 3 4 2 8 2 Smwht satisfied 43 35 37 42 37 60 37 Smwht dissatisfied 36 37 38 34 37 22 37 Very dissatisfied 15 25 21 19 23 8 23 DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 3 1
14. How serious do you think Pennsylvania’s budget problems are very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Very serious 61% 61% 54% 70% 64% 59% 67% Smwht serious 34 33 41 25 32 36 27 Not too serious 2 3 3 2 3 2 4 Not at all serious – - – 1 – - – DK/NA 2 4 2 2 1 3 2 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Very serious 61% 62% 63% 55% 53% 72% 63% Smwht serious 32 33 29 42 43 27 31 Not too serious 3 4 6 2 2 1 2 Not at all serious 1 – - – - – 1 DK/NA 3 1 2 2 1 1 4
TREND: How serious do you think Pennsylvania’s budget problems are – very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 Feb 20 2011 2010 2003 

 Very serious 61 60 32 Smwht serious 34 33 55 Not too serious 2 4 7 Not at all serious – 1 1 DK/NA 2 1 5
15. To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Raising taxes 30% 11% 49% 28% 25% 35% 38% Cutting services 56 81 35 58 63 51 48 DK/NA 14 8 16 14 13 14 15 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Raising taxes 39% 59% 28% 26% 23% 22% 22% Cutting services 53 26 53 60 60 68 65 DK/NA 9 14 18 13 17 11 13
TREND: To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 Feb 20 2011 2010 2003 

 Raising taxes 30 30 29 Cutting services 56 56 57 DK/NA 14 14 14
16. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – layoffs for state employees? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Support 52% 65% 37% 56% 58% 46% 40% Oppose 40 30 53 33 33 46 52 DK/NA 8 5 10 10 9 8 8 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Support 56% 39% 56% 49% 59% 56% 52% Oppose 37 53 32 41 35 38 40 DK/NA 7 8 13 11 6 6 8
TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – layoffs for state employees? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Support 52 51 Oppose 40 41 DK/NA 8 9
17. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – leasing the Pennsylvania turnpike to a private company? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Support 36% 38% 31% 42% 38% 34% 39% Oppose 51 49 58 44 52 50 54 DK/NA 13 13 11 14 9 16 7 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Support 42% 36% 32% 43% 25% 39% 32% Oppose 50 51 60 44 59 48 52 DK/NA 8 13 7 13 16 13 16
TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – leasing the Pennsylvania turnpike to a private company? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Support 36 36 Oppose 51 52 DK/NA 13 12
18. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – selling off the state liquor stores? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Support 65% 64% 62% 71% 68% 62% 62% Oppose 26 27 28 21 25 28 31 DK/NA 9 8 9 8 7 10 6 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Support 62% 64% 65% 72% 58% 69% 62% Oppose 32 29 29 20 33 22 26 DK/NA 6 7 6 8 10 8 12
TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – selling off the state liquor stores? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Support 65 66 Oppose 26 26 DK/NA 9 8
19. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – raising taxes? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Support 33% 16% 49% 31% 33% 33% 41% Oppose 63 81 47 64 64 63 56 DK/NA 4 2 4 4 3 4 3 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Support 37% 57% 29% 33% 30% 23% 26% Oppose 61 42 59 62 67 76 71 DK/NA 2 – 12 4 3 1 3
TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose – raising taxes? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Support 33 32 Oppose 63 65 DK/NA 4 3
20. If you had to make a choice to help balance the state budget, which would you choose; leasing the turnpike, selling the state liquor stores, laying off state workers or raising taxes? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Leasing turnpike 18% 16% 18% 19% 16% 19% 20% Sell liquor stores 53 54 56 50 50 56 53 Lay off state wrkrs 13 17 8 15 17 9 10 Raise taxes 9 6 14 8 10 9 11 DK/NA 7 7 4 7 7 7 6 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Leasing turnpike 21% 21% 15% 22% 10% 19% 14% Sell liquor stores 53 58 56 52 51 47 53 Lay off state wrkrs 9 7 15 11 15 22 14 Raise taxes 11 12 7 11 9 7 8 DK/NA 5 3 6 4 15 6 11
TREND: If you had to make a choice to help balance the state budget, which would you choose; leasing the turnpike, selling the state liquor stores, laying off state workers or raising taxes? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Lease turnpike 18 17 Sell liquor stores 53 54 Lay off state wrkrs 13 14 Raise taxes 9 7 DK/NA 7 7
21. And which would you be most opposed to; leasing the turnpike, selling the state liquor stores, laying off state workers or raising taxes? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Leasing turnpike 15% 16% 13% 15% 16% 13% 11% Sell liquor stores 7 8 6 6 8 6 10 Lay off state wrkrs 31 16 46 29 30 32 43 Raise taxes 43 56 31 44 42 44 32 DK/NA 5 3 4 6 4 5 4 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Leasing turnpike 16% 13% 13% 14% 14% 15% 15% Sell liquor stores 7 6 11 4 8 6 6 Lay off state wrkrs 35 47 28 31 30 24 26 Raise taxes 39 29 43 47 40 51 46 DK/NA 2 5 5 3 7 3 7
TREND: And which would you be most opposed to; leasing the turnpike, selling the state liquor stores, laying off state workers or raising taxes? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Lease turnpike 15 14 Sell liquor stores 7 7 Lay off state wrkrs 31 28 Raise taxes 43 47 DK/NA 5 5
22. Governor Tom Corbett has pledged that in trying to balance the state’s budget deficit that he will not raise taxes or fees. Do you think Tom Corbett should have made this pledge or not? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Yes 49% 71% 29% 53% 52% 46% 46% No 43 21 63 40 41 45 50 DK/NA 8 8 8 7 7 9 5 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Yes 43% 39% 48% 51% 44% 57% 54% No 48 52 46 43 45 36 37 DK/NA 10 9 6 6 12 6 8
TREND: Governor Tom Corbett has pledged that in trying to balance the state’s budget deficit that he will not raise taxes or fees. Do you think Tom Corbett should have made this pledge or not? (*Governor-elect Tom Corbett) 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010* 

 Yes 49 47 No 43 44 DK/NA 8 9
23. Do you think Tom Corbett will be able to keep his campaign pledge or not? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Yes 33% 46% 20% 38% 36% 30% 32% No 53 41 65 52 50 56 57 DK/NA 14 13 15 10 14 13 11 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Yes 34% 23% 30% 31% 39% 41% 35% No 54 65 63 54 48 44 49 DK/NA 12 12 7 16 14 14 16
TREND: Do you think Tom Corbett will be able to keep his campaign pledge or not? 

 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2010 

 Yes 33 33 No 53 53 DK/NA 14 14
24. Do you think the current legal gambling in Pennsylvania is a good thing or a bad thing for Pennsylvania? 

 BnToPACasinoQ32 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No 

 Good thing 64% 56% 73% 63% 66% 63% 82% 58% Bad Thing 29 37 23 30 28 31 14 35 DK/NA 6 6 4 7 6 7 5 7 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Good thing 67% 64% 66% 67% 63% 68% 60% Bad Thing 28 31 26 27 32 24 33 DK/NA 5 5 8 6 5 8 7
25. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose increasing legal gambling? 

 BnToPACasinoQ32 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No 

 Support 51% 45% 57% 52% 56% 47% 68% 45% Oppose 46 52 41 45 42 49 30 52 DK/NA 3 3 2 4 2 4 2 3 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Support 50% 48% 54% 53% 55% 60% 46% Oppose 47 47 41 45 41 38 52 DK/NA 2 5 5 2 5 3 2
27. Ex-governor Ed Rendell said on the TV news show 60 minutes that it’s better for Pennsylvania that gambling addicts spend their money in Pennsylvania than take it to other states. Do you agree or disagree? 

 BnToPACasinoQ32 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No 

 Agree 69% 59% 74% 76% 73% 66% 80% 65% Disagree 26 39 21 22 25 28 16 30 DK/NA 4 3 5 2 3 6 4 4
28. Some people say that legalized slot machine gambling in Pennsylvania has created new gamblers. Do you agree or disagree? 

 BnToPACasinoQ32 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No 

 Agree 54% 63% 50% 53% 54% 54% 50% 56% Disagree 39 30 43 43 39 38 46 36 DK/NA 7 6 7 4 6 8 3 8
29. Do you think that is a good thing or a bad thing? 

 BnToPACasinoQ32 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No 

 Good thing 25% 23% 25% 29% 35% 16% 30% 23% Bad Thing 67 70 66 65 58 76 57 71 DK/NA 7 7 8 6 7 8 12 6
32. How many times have you visited a gambling casino in Pennsylvania in the last 12 months – would you say several times, only once or twice, or not at all? 

 Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds 

 Several times 7% 8% 8% 5% 6% 8% 11% Only once or twice 21 21 22 22 26 18 21 Not at all 71 71 69 73 68 74 67 DK/NA 1 – 1 – 1 1 1 

 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl 

 Several times 16% 2% 10% 6% 4% 7% 5% Only once or twice 26 24 32 19 19 24 14 Not at all 58 70 58 75 77 69 80 DK/NA – 3 – - – - – 

 

   



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