The Republican race for Governor in 2022 is wide open, although a former GOP congressman has emerged as an early frontrunner, according to this new poll.
Susquehanna Polling and Research’s new poll gave registered Republicans the following options for the 2022 GOP primary for Governor: Doug Mastriano, William McSwain, Lou Barletta, Jim Cawley, Dan Meuser, other, and undecided.
60% polled said that they were undecided on who they would support if the Republican primary election were being held today.
Former Congressman Lou Barletta led the way with 20% among the candidates provided as an option in the poll. The only other candidate to surpass double digits was state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who registered with 11% support.
McSwain, a former U.S. Attorney, was next in line with 3%, followed by Congressman Dan Meuser (R-Luzerne) who also is at 3%. Former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley received 2% of the vote in the poll, and “other” was selected by 1%.
New SP&R Poll Shows Early Fav in GOP Nomination for Pa Gov. If [’22] GOP Primary were held today, frm. Con. L. Barletta is top choice (20%), followed by D. Mastriano (11%), B. McSwain (3%), D. Meuser (3%) and J. Cawley (2%). 60% no pick. Visit https://t.co/czyqudpwQn for details
— SP&R (@SusquehannaPR) March 17, 2021
According to the polling memo from SP&R, Barletta leads the other GOP hopefuls in “three critical areas” of the state, including the “conservative “T”/Central, the Northeast/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton media market, and the Southcentral/Harrisburg/Lancaster/Perry market.
These potential GOP candidates for Governor largely remain unknown by the Republican voters, although Barletta and Mastriano are neck and neck in approval rating.
23% have a favorable opinion of Barletta, while 11% have an unfavorable opinion of him. 33% have no opinion of the former GOP congressman and one time Senate candidate and 33% have never heard of him.
22% have a favorable opinion of Mastriano, while 5% have an unfavorable opinion of him. 39% have no opinion of the GOP state Senator, while 34% never heard of him.
8% have a favorable opinion of Cawley, while 5% have an unfavorable opinion of him. 46% never heard of the former Lt. Governor, while 41% have no opinion of him.
5% have a favorable opinion of Meuser, while 7% have an unfavorable opinion of him. 57% never heard of the GOP congressman, while 30% have no opinion of him.
3% have a favorable opinion of McSwain, while 3% have an unfavorable opinion of him. 60% have never heard of the former U.S. Attorney, while 34% have no opinion.
Although these five candidates were presented as options for candidates for Governor, none of the five have formally announced their entrance into the race.
One thing that does largely unite Republican voters is their approval of former President Donald Trump.
83% have a favorable opinion of Trump, while 12% have an unfavorable opinion, and 5% have no opinion.
SP&R surveyed 700 likely Pennsylvania general election voters, with a subset of 272 Republican voters, between Feb. 16-to-Feb. 24.
The margin of error for a sample size of 700 interviews is +/-3.7% at the 95% confidence level, or +/-5.9% for a subset of 272 interviews with registered Republicans.
The topline survey results from SP&R can be found here.
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19 Responses
Both Barletta and Mastriano would be excellent candidates for Pennsylvania Governor. Both have impressive backgrounds, high moral standards and are known fighters for the good of Pennsylvania.
Eric Bradway Former Lower Merion Constable is running for Governor
It is too early to say who I will support, but I am either leaning towards Lou Barletta and Doug Mastriano. For the United States Senate, I definitely do not like Jeff Bartos. I would prefer a Guy Reschenthaler or Everett Stern.
How about Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph Gale? I would at least like to hear him in debates for the GOP nomination for Governor.
Who is Joe Gale? The guy who lives at home with his parents and has a brother with zero experience running for US Senate?
The guy who was censured as a racist by his fellow commissioners? Right or wrong, that makes him unelectable.
Git outta heaaaa
I heard Jeo Gale was a transgender male? Please confirm
But Mastriano is getting press for surprising secure state facilities and not calling ahead to notify them, then claiming it’s a cover up. Hes the absolute smartesest of all because he can make everyone look bad.
Real clever for a guy who looks like a bald penis.
Traitorous scumbag.
PLEASE let Dan Meuser run!! He has so many skeletons in his closet it will be incredible to finally see them come to light. Start with the countless extramarital affairs while Revenue Secretary and work your way down the loooooong list!
he may be the next gov cuomo….once the 1st woman comes forward all the other dominos will start to fall
Jim Cawley is the most qualified and would name a good cabinet of diversified qualified people,
Of those mentioned, only Cawley could likely win. Fiscal conservative with southeast roots and appeal to unify the PA Republican Party and appeal to moderate independents and blue dog Dems (if there are any left!) Could build an organization, plus he’s about the right age, guessing late 40’s may early 50’s, to appeal to a variety of demographic groups.
He brought the vaccine in for Trump but does that disqualify him with the anti vaccination crowd?
Lou Barletta is such a sick joke for any office. Even his pearly whites are obvious frauds.
Fraud liar imposter p.o.s. Sweet Lou is wonderful.
Barletta is soooooooo overrated. Not smart. Lazy. Can’t raise money. Burns bridges. As usual, the GOP lacks a strong woman or black candidate which is the only way to have a chance at defeating Shapiro. Get on it Tabas.
MAGA’s can’t win a statewide race in the general. Certainly not against Josh Shapiro. Probably not ‘the field’ either. Trump’s ego broke the Republican brand for a generation.
Republicans, you need to clean your own house here. Stop the insurrectionist Mastriano NOW. You need to stop Trumpism dead in it’s tracks now
Notable: 73% of respondents know nothing about Mastriano (“39% have no opinion of the GOP state Senator, while 34% never heard of him”)–so I’d not put touch credence in a 27% not-unpositive rating for a racist, lie-mongering insurrectionist. The more you know …
Notable: 100% of people have never heard of John R. Goss III. Is it the reason you talk about others is because nobody would listen if you talked about yourself?