New polling shows Dems leading across Pa.

Written by Kelly Cernetich Brown, interim Managing Editor

New polling supports data from two weeks ago showing a wide lead for Democrats at the top of the ticket in the Commonwealth.

Similar to results from a Franklin & Marshall poll released earlier this month, a new Suffolk University/York Daily Record poll of likely midterm voters show double-digit leads for both Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

According to the data, Wolf leads Republican challenger Scott Wagner 49 percent to 36 percent, with Casey polling at 47 percent — 15 points ahead of Congressman Lou Barletta.

“Unlike the 2016 presidential election in Pennsylvania, a squeaker that went to Donald Trump, the U.S. Senate and governor’s races show a turning back to the predominant Democratic Party,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

Officials said updated data continues to show a Democratic voter registration advantage, at 48 percent to 38 percent, with 14 percent of voters unaffiliated, independent or other.

According to the poll, 19 percent of respondents said President Donald Trump is a factor they will consider when casting their votes for U.S. Senate. The economy continues to be the No. 1 issue, at 20 percent.

“Forty-four percent of voters said they want their votes in November to change the direction Trump is leading the nation, while 36 percent said their vote would support the president,” officials said in a press release.

Trump continues to carry a negative approval rating, at 51 percent unfavorable and 41 percent favorable. It seems the administration’s family-separation immigration policy has had an impact, with 59 percent of respondents answering that families should be kept together after they cross the border.

Respondents also favored a semiautomatic weapons ban (61 percent) and raising the age requirement to purchase a firearm from age 18 to 21 (68 percent). Sixty-one percent of respondents support a minimum wage increase to $12 an hour or more.

The statewide survey of 500 likely voters was conducted June 21 to June 25. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

June 27th, 2018 | Posted in Front Page Stories, Governor, Poll, Senate, Top Stories | 37 Comments