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SP&R Poll: Corbett Approval Negative, 58%-33%

Tom CorbettA majority of registered voters give Gov. Tom Corbett poor job approval marks according to the latest survey from Susquehanna Polling & Research.

The Republican polling firm found 58% of respondents disapprove Corbett’s job performance (including 45% who strongly disapprove). 33% approve the job he’s doing as Governor.

That’s a 12 point drop from SP&R’s February poll where Corbett was down 52% to 39%.

He’s in positive territory with Republicans, 55% to 32%. Democrats disapprove 80% to 16%.

President Barack Obama also got negative marks. 51% disapprove his job performance while 45% approve. SP&R’s February poll gave The President a slightly positive rating, 49% to 48%.

The exclusive poll was conducted for SP&R subscribers and obtained by PoliticsPA. The pollster surveyed 702 registered voters from Sept. 24-26 via landlines and cell phones. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7%. 47% of respondents identified as Democrats, 41% as Republicans.*

29% of respondents named jobs and the economy the most important problem
facing Pa., followed by education/schools (16%) and healthcare (15%).As lawmakers in Washington continue to fall short of a compromise to end the government shutdown, the poll found voters in Pa. support efforts to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. 52% of respondents said Obamacare should be “defunded while 41% said the law’s “implementation continue on schedule”.

Independent voters favored repeal/defunding 51% to 34%.

SP&R’s polling during the 2012 cycle generally favored Republicans. It was the only pollster to show Mitt Romney ahead of Obama in Pennsylvania.

*Editor’s note: The partisan breakdown of this poll received a few questions online.If SP&R was polling registered voters, why didn’t the results match the state’s party registration (50% Dem, 37% GOP)?

It’s apparently because SP&R added another simple layer to filter the electorate: respondents’ participation in past elections. They only included respondents with an active recent voting history.

That’s not the same as a “likely” voter, per se, because pollsters often incorporate some kind of more advanced turnout model to determine who constitutes a likely voter. Those turnout models do consider voting history, but also include other details like estimates of income ethnicity. They often directly ask respondents how likely they think they are to vote.

In 2012, SP&R’s turnout models differed from other pollsters in a way that artificially inflated the GOP’s chances in Pa. More on that here. But virtually all pollsters agree that recent voting history is a worthy and non-partisan indicator.

Here’s the full explanation from the SP&R memo:

Completed interviews were conducted September 24-26, 2013 with 702 registered voters in Pennsylvania who have prior vote history in 2 of 4 or better in G12, G11, G10 and/or G09, as well as new registered voters since 2011. Interviews are randomly selected and conducted via telephone using the professionally-trained survey research staff (live agents) from the Harrisburg telephone call center of Susquehanna Polling and Research. Interviews are closely monitored to ensure a representative sample of Pennsylvania’s electorate is achieved based on party, geography, gender, age and other demographics; results are sometimes statistically weighted.

26 Responses

  1. What is to like with this governor. He gets nothing of substance done. The Pensions are a mess. The liquor business is still in the hands of the unions and his cronies. He spends 2B a year for RCRAP “investing”. The schools still are not clean or functioning. He has a Rep Senate and Rep House and gets NOTHING done. My dog could do better.

  2. PAINDY1…I wrote on this site that I think Rendell has been in Corbett’s corner because Corbett would be a sure victory for the Democrats in 2014. I feel Rendell and other democrats do NOT want a Republican primary race for governor for this reason.

    Do you think Rendell has been in Corbett’s corner because Ed is tied-up with this cyber school / charter school mess? Do you and other feel Corbett is a sure bet to lose?

    Paindy1…. Put me down for a copy of your book. While we differ often, I find you writing highly entertaining and insightful….like many that post here.

  3. “The state Democratic Party has pounced on the poll, noting both the extremely poor numbers for the governor and the fact that Susquehanna were the ones to release it.
    “This is the same pollster who had Romney up by 4 in late October 2012. Can you imagine how bad the real Corbett numbers are?” PA Dems spokesperson Marc Eisenstein writes in a mass email to reporters.”

    http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/phillynow/2013/10/02/corbett-poll-susquehanna/

  4. Dear Daryl Metcalfe and staff: My researchers believe the Corbett Hit Men and Women are behind this attack. Brian and Leslie are very naughty. I like the tactic. However I would not use it to attack your hamburgers. I would run some Robocalls in Gladwyne about the millions in taxpayer dollars of Corporate Welfare Corbett has given Charter Cyber school corporate Welfare queens like Vahan Gureghian and K12 Inc. Can someone edify me: It it legal to run anonymous robocalls in PA? http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/4806736-74/metcalfe-website-state#axzz2
    gjQHXCb3

  5. BRAVO BRAVO BRABENDER/CORBETT HITMEN AND HITWOMEN: FOR YOUR ANONYMOUS ATTACKS ON DARYL METCALFE! COS Gromis-Baker and Acting Governor Brabender, are you going to order up anonymous robocalls to the Dick Scaife’s editorial board, that doesn’t want CORBETTCARE either? If you spent more energy guarding the public interest, maybe your guy’s poll numbers wouldn’t be in the toilet. http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/4806736-74/metcalfe-website-state#axzz2
    gjQHXCb3

  6. Speaker Mike Turzai is so right. Let Acting Governor Brabender, COS Gromis-Baker, and hubby UPMC Scotty Baker have their fun. Rep. Jim Christiana you are buzz kill. The main principle in Harrisburg is that Acting Governor John Brabender and his family need to eat from his rumored work with Highmark. Rep. JIm Christiana, if you really wanted to have some fun propose a bill that requires Brabender Cox to disclose its corporate clients that have business in the Capitol. Why does Leader Mike TURZAI support POLITICAL NECROPHILIA OF HIS GOVERNOR FOR PERSONAL GAIN? http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/pa-house-legislators-tackl
    e-upmc-highmark-dispute-705862/

  7. Dear Vahan: I see you bought a $25 million dollar estate in Palm Beach. Bravo: excellent legal protection strategy as personal residences are off-limits in Florida. May I ask why did you intimidate that kid blogger in New Jersey? When you get it from Pennsylvania taxpayers flaunt it BABY: It’s the American Way. Speaking of residences: Can anyone get me a Google Earth photo of the John Brabender estate in Loundon County Virginia and the future home of the Corbett library? SUE AND TOM: REMEMBER BRABENDER MADE YOU AND PUT YOU IN THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION!! YOU OWE HIM AND THE NUTTS YOUR BLOOD LOYALTY TO THE BITTER END! http://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/12/07/ahan-danielle-gureghian/#.Uk4UL_jNj_Q.email

  8. Dear Dr.: When should never use the phrase Teabagger. But….Can anyone believe Charles Zogby’s numbers no matter what their ideology or caucus, when they know that he is a blatant Charter Cyber School Cabal PIMP. POLITICAL NECROPHILIA: IT’S ALL GOOD!

  9. @ Pileggi for Governor

    Your credibility would be enhanced were you to eschew use of the pejorative “Tea-Baggers.”

  10. @ Phil:

    After a few years, the $-burden of additional coverage balloons for Expanded Medicaid.

  11. Medicaid Expansion is not only fiscally reckless, but will undermine Corbett’s already lackluster support with Tea Party Republicans.

    Blockhead Brabender will argue.”You don’t want a Democrat, do you.” The answer is if you can’t win, would we not be better to focus on House and Senate race and if you are not trying, then why should we?

  12. “[and holding-off the Dems’ effort to tax shale].”

    Are not most Pennsylvanians for a tax on Gas?

  13. I also plan to attend the MCRC dinner; and will be confronting Tom about the existential choice he faces: either get on board with Medicaid expansion now (not next year, now) or join the ranks of the unemployed in 2015. On the Medicaid issue alone, he will lose all of the southeast counties (those folks are fired-up), including Delaware, by an overwhelming majority. That block of voters will be unified and will decide his fate.

  14. Only the delusional blockheads being paid millions to advise him think Corbett has a chance of re-election.

    His numbers decline and I think R voters are less than enthusiastic about this “vague” governor.

    Look for an under vote among Republicans and I would think the unions will flay Democrats to get out and vote which will harm the rest of the Republicans on this ticket.

    Establishment leadership seems determined to stay the course with a loser.

  15. As a GOP Committeeman for two decades, I will be seeing him @ the upcoming MCRC-Dinner; if he hasn’t achieved closure regarding any of the pledge-triad [Pension-Reform, State Stores, Transportation] by then, it will be pivotal to note if he has the ability to claim any substantive “sexy” achievement beyond balanced-budgets [and holding-off the Dems’ effort to tax shale].

  16. From WHITNEY TILSON report on 12k INC.: “A teacher wrote on the website of Glassdoor-“‘More than half of my job is not about teaching, but how to trick the state to give K12 more money, so the CEOs will get more pay.'” Page 31 ANA ANALYSIS OF KI2 (LRN) AND WHY IT IS MY LARGEST SHORT

  17. IS THE CHARTER CYBER SCHOOL GRAVY TRAIN, SUCKING TAXPAYER MONEY AWAY FROM JOB CREATING INITIATIVES? WHY ARE CORBETT, BRABENDER, ZOGBY, NUTT, GROMIS-BAKER, JENNIFER BRANSTETTER FOR CORPORATE WELFARE TO THE CYBER CHARTER CABAL-TO GET DONATIONS TO FUND BRABENDER’S COMMERICIALS? AND K-12 INC. IS THE CORPORATE WELFARE QUEEN OF THE KEYSTONE STATE.

  18. POLICY IDEA FOR BRIAN NUTT AND JENNIFER: Wouldn’t it make sense to curtail the gravy train of Cyber School profiteers to divert money to actual job creating infrastructure projects? I know the Charter Cyber School cabal is vicisous-just ask William Harner-but hasn’t the time come to take a short hiatus from POLITICAL NECROPHILIA? ISN’T IT TIME TO ASK CHARLES ZOGBY TO RETURN TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR?

  19. Does anyone in the Harrisburg press corp remember Standford’s CREDO study on PA Cyber Charter Schools? Why has the Brabender-Corbett Adminstration imbedded Cyber Charter Profiteers in their Adminstration as Budget Secretary, Shadow Education Secretary and now as press Secretary? ISN’T IT TIME FOR CHARLES ZOGBY AND THE CYBER CHARTER SCHOOL CABAL TO BE EXPELLED? http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Pennsylvania-Cyber-charter-sch
    ools-arent-working—-so-lets-expand-them.html
    POLITICAL NECROPHILIA: IT’S ALL GOOD!!

  20. My researchers report that the Rendell PA Dept of Ed drafted a 30 page letter about PA Cyber and AG Corbett was copied. Why was cleaning up Cyber Charter school abuse put on the back burner? Were Tom and Brian to busy hunting Sandusky or looking for for Ray Gricar? Did our now Acting Governor Brabender give strategic poltiical advisory services that taking down a Cyber Charter School Profiteer would hurt his campaign coffers in 2010? Mr. Pagni: Can you illuminate the situation for me and my team of researchers? http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/08/pa_cyber_charter_founde
    r_nick.html

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