The latest Franklin & Marshall poll should put Senator Bob Casey in a good mood.  He is in a better position than he was at this point in his successful 2012 re-election

Casey’s approval numbers show him with a 37% approval rating, compared to 29% in an F&M poll from March 2011. 10% had Casey doing an excellent job and 27% rated him doing a good job. On the disapproval side, 31% said he was doing a “fair job” compared with 14% saying “poor job.”  We are still over 20 months away from election day 2018 the numbers should help motivate his supporters and donors.  

Casey’s personal favorability among voters has seen a similar increase since this time in his last re-election cycle.  Currently 41% of Pennsylvanians have a favorable view of Casey, a full 16 points higher than in March 2011.  

There’s one important caveat: the March 2011 poll surveyed adults in general, including some who were not registered to vote.

Casey’s numbers by region show a fairly good picture for re-election, polling above 30% in all of the geographic regions of the state.  But Casey’s numbers with non-whites are not as favorable, with 67% rating him as fair or poor and 32% positively.  For comparison, Governor Tom Wolf has a 36/55 split with non-whites and President Trump is at 5/92.  

Franklin & Marshall surveyed 816 registered voters from February 15-19. Respondents were contacted by letter and given the choice between phone interview or online interview. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percent.

F&M calculates job approval differently than most pollsters that tends to result in lower ratings – regardless of party. Respondents choose between a rating of excellent, good, fair, and poor. The approval numbers are pulled from the excellent and good categories.