Political capital is particularly important for any newly elected politician, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has got plenty of it.
Ahead of his first budget address Tuesday, a new poll from Trib Total Media revealed Wolf’s approval rating at a solid 56.7 percent.
The survey, conducted by the Robert Morris University Polling Institute, breaks down the approval rating into 19.5 percent who hold a “very favorable” view of Wolf and 37.2 percent who hold a “somewhat favorable” opinion.
Just 20.5 percent of Pennsylvanians indicated their opinion of Wolf is “somewhat” or “very” unfavorable. Less than a quarter (22.8 percent) are undecided about the new Governor.
Wolf’s approval rating isn’t expected to remain this strong, however. As Wolf works to get his proposed budget approved, he will likely face Republican opposition, and his poll numbers will dip.
“With the state facing a $2 billion budget deficit, these high poll numbers will not last,” RMU political science professor Philip Harold stated. “If Gov. Wolf wants to enact change in Pennsylvania, it has to be now. Any changes enacted now will give the governor time before the next election to show that his policies are starting to work.”
Wolf is certainly not shying away from the opportunity to create change in state policy. In Tuesday’s speech to the Grand Assembly, Wolf proposed a bold budget that would pump money into the education system, raise the minimum wage, lower the corporate tax rate and increase the income and sales taxes.
Among the most skeptical of Wolf was the senior demographic, the RMU poll found, whose favorability margin for Wolf was 48 to 35 percent.
The RMU poll surveyed 508 Pennsylvanians from Feb. 11 through 20. Out of those who revealed their party affiliations, 35.6 percent were Republican, 42.1 percent Democratic and 13.6 percent independent. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 4.5 percent.
2 Responses
He’s been in office all of 1 month. Pretty hard to screw up that quickly.
What were the polling numbers for Alan Kennedy-Shaffer for Harrisburg City Council?