Forty-four percent of Pennsylvania Republicans surveyed say Corbett should step aside. Corbett's rating sinks further

Almost half of Pennsylvania Republicans want Gov. Tom Corbett to step down and let the party run another candidate for governor next year, according to a poll out Thursday morning.

In the poll, from Franklin & Marshall College, the state’s Republicans are almost split on the issue: Forty-four percent of registered Republicans surveyed said Corbett should step aside compared with 42 percent who think he should run again.


The poll shows approval ratings even lower than earlier this year for Corbett, who already tops national Democrats’ list of vulnerable GOP governors for next year.

Just 19 percent of those surveyed said the incumbent Republican is doing an “excellent” or “good job” as governor, according to the poll. And asked if Corbett deserves reelection, only 20 percent said yes.

In May, F&M had Corbett’s approval rating at 25 percent.

Corbett has no primary challenger thus far. He’s facing a crowded Democratic field that includes Rep. Allyson Schwartz, state Treasurer Rob McCord, former state environmental protection director Katie McGinty and others.

The F&M poll surveyed 628 registered voters Oct. 22-27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.