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Support Dips For Rendell And Specter
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| Gov. Ed Rendell, center, is joined at a 2007 press conference with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Approval ratings have dipped for Messrs. Rendell and Specter. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press) |
By Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
Harrisburg — Economic and other concerns have weighed down on the usually high approval ratings of Gov. Ed Rendell, D, as well as U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released yesterday.
Mr. Rendell now has a 47 percent approval rating, while 38 percent of registered Pennsylvania voters disapprove of his job performance. His approval among Democrats stands currently at 63 percent versus 25 percent who disapprove, while his favorable rating among Republicans is now only 31 percent, with 51 percent viewing him unfavorably. He has a slight edge with Independents — 44 percent favorable and 41 percent unfavorable.
Quinnipiac’s most recent numbers don’t represent the worst the governor has seen from public opinion. He received a 46-percent favorable rating in April 2006 amid widespread discontent with a pay raise for public officials the governor signed and quickly repealed. Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said the recent decline in public satisfaction with the governor owes to a nationwide discontent with the economy from which many politicians’ popularity ratings now suffer.
“It’s understandable and it’s not good, but this is happening to governors all over the country: Their numbers are dropping,” Mr. Richards said. “It’s clear that it’s the economy that’s dragging him down. It’s not that bad yet.”
The governor, who Mr. Richards sometimes refers to as “Teflon Ed” because of his heretofore resilient popularity, still fares better than the state General Assembly with its 39 percent approval rating and a 42 percent disapproval rating. Mr. Richards said the legislature has often become a sort of “whipping boy” for a dissatisfied public but said Mr. Rendell stays somewhat shielded from popular discontent.
Other observers think the governor faces something more trenchant. Lowman Henry, chairman of the Harrisburg-based Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, said voters have begun to draw a connection between the spending and tax increases ushered in by the governor and Pennsylvania’s sluggish economy.
“I think the ‘Teflon’ is gone,” he told The Bulletin. “It’s not just that the economy is in the tank. It’s that he helped put the state economy there.”
Large majorities of voters in both parties as well as independents opposed the governor’s plan to allow counties to impose local sales taxes, though majorities backed his proposals to increase cigarette taxes and to legalize video poker. A slim majority opposed his plan to cut the state workforce, though substantial majorities of both Republicans and independents support the proposed 2,600-job cut.
Mr. Specter’s approval numbers are, in one respect, even less enviable than Mr. Rendell’s. While 56 percent of polled voters said they approve of the senator’s job performance, 43 percent said he does not deserve to be re-elected next year while 40 percent said he does deserve it. Republicans were split 42 percent to 42 percent on that question while Democrats were split 41 percent to 42 percent, but 45 percent of independent voters said he doesn’t deserve re-election while 36 percent said he does.
Mr. Richards partly ascribed voters’ faltering enthusiasm for Mr. Specter to his poor health. (The senator suffers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.) He added that the lack of support among Mr. Specter’s fellow Republicans probably owes somewhat to his support of Barack Obama’s government-spending plan billed as an “economic stimulus.”
But it may be too early to anticipate a tough primary challenge to the senator, as no Republican candidate field has developed yet, and Mr. Specter has dealt with drops in support among his party base in the past.
“We’re not talking about a huge drop in support here,” Mr. Richards said. “It’s in territory that makes him vulnerable, but these are numbers in a vacuum without an opponent.”
Mr. Henry agreed the stage isn’t quite set for a Republican nomination battle, since talk of a challenger hasn’t risen beyond mere murmurs. But he said if Mr. Specter votes to abolish secret-ballot elections in union organizing, a favored position of Mr. Obama known as “card check,” droves of Republicans would strongly back a challenger.
“If he abandons the party, if he abandons the business community on ‘card check,’ you can be sure a serious candidate will enter the race,” Mr. Henry said.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
Mr. Rendell now has a 47 percent approval rating, while 38 percent of registered Pennsylvania voters disapprove of his job performance. His approval among Democrats stands currently at 63 percent versus 25 percent who disapprove, while his favorable rating among Republicans is now only 31 percent, with 51 percent viewing him unfavorably. He has a slight edge with Independents — 44 percent favorable and 41 percent unfavorable.
Quinnipiac’s most recent numbers don’t represent the worst the governor has seen from public opinion. He received a 46-percent favorable rating in April 2006 amid widespread discontent with a pay raise for public officials the governor signed and quickly repealed. Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said the recent decline in public satisfaction with the governor owes to a nationwide discontent with the economy from which many politicians’ popularity ratings now suffer.
“It’s understandable and it’s not good, but this is happening to governors all over the country: Their numbers are dropping,” Mr. Richards said. “It’s clear that it’s the economy that’s dragging him down. It’s not that bad yet.”
The governor, who Mr. Richards sometimes refers to as “Teflon Ed” because of his heretofore resilient popularity, still fares better than the state General Assembly with its 39 percent approval rating and a 42 percent disapproval rating. Mr. Richards said the legislature has often become a sort of “whipping boy” for a dissatisfied public but said Mr. Rendell stays somewhat shielded from popular discontent.
Other observers think the governor faces something more trenchant. Lowman Henry, chairman of the Harrisburg-based Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, said voters have begun to draw a connection between the spending and tax increases ushered in by the governor and Pennsylvania’s sluggish economy.
“I think the ‘Teflon’ is gone,” he told The Bulletin. “It’s not just that the economy is in the tank. It’s that he helped put the state economy there.”
Large majorities of voters in both parties as well as independents opposed the governor’s plan to allow counties to impose local sales taxes, though majorities backed his proposals to increase cigarette taxes and to legalize video poker. A slim majority opposed his plan to cut the state workforce, though substantial majorities of both Republicans and independents support the proposed 2,600-job cut.
Mr. Specter’s approval numbers are, in one respect, even less enviable than Mr. Rendell’s. While 56 percent of polled voters said they approve of the senator’s job performance, 43 percent said he does not deserve to be re-elected next year while 40 percent said he does deserve it. Republicans were split 42 percent to 42 percent on that question while Democrats were split 41 percent to 42 percent, but 45 percent of independent voters said he doesn’t deserve re-election while 36 percent said he does.
Mr. Richards partly ascribed voters’ faltering enthusiasm for Mr. Specter to his poor health. (The senator suffers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.) He added that the lack of support among Mr. Specter’s fellow Republicans probably owes somewhat to his support of Barack Obama’s government-spending plan billed as an “economic stimulus.”
But it may be too early to anticipate a tough primary challenge to the senator, as no Republican candidate field has developed yet, and Mr. Specter has dealt with drops in support among his party base in the past.
“We’re not talking about a huge drop in support here,” Mr. Richards said. “It’s in territory that makes him vulnerable, but these are numbers in a vacuum without an opponent.”
Mr. Henry agreed the stage isn’t quite set for a Republican nomination battle, since talk of a challenger hasn’t risen beyond mere murmurs. But he said if Mr. Specter votes to abolish secret-ballot elections in union organizing, a favored position of Mr. Obama known as “card check,” droves of Republicans would strongly back a challenger.
“If he abandons the party, if he abandons the business community on ‘card check,’ you can be sure a serious candidate will enter the race,” Mr. Henry said.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
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John Law wrote on Feb 13, 2009 7:02 PM: