(h/t Swing State Project)

By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

A new poll released Friday from Research 2000/Daily Kos shows Democrat Mark Critz trailing Republican Tim Burns 40 percent to 46 percent, another troubling sign for the Democratic Party as it tries to retain the late John Murtha’s congressional seat.

The 6-point margin is the largest yet recorded in the race from a public polling firm, most of which have shown a statistical dead heat between Critz, Murtha’s former district director, and Burns, a businessman from Washington County. Its results are consistent with the perception of many observers, who increasingly think the seat is the Republicans’ to lose despite a heavy registration advantage in the 12^th District for Democrats.

Much like a Public Policy Polling survey released last week, the most troubling numbers for Democrats continue to be the approval ratings for President Obama. Just 38 percent of voters have a favorable view of the chief executive, compared with 55 percent who hold an unfavorable view.

The Public Policy poll released last week showed 28 percent of voters approved of the Democrats’ health care bill, compared to 59 percent who didn’t.

The 12^th was the only congressional district in the country that supported Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 and Republican Presidential nominee John McCain in 2008.

Tags: Mark Critz, Mark Critz for congress, Tim Burns, Tim Burns for congress

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