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Oh boy. This is starting to get hilarious in a morbid way. Of course the morbidity comes from not the headline of this post but from the fact that Tom Corbett was elected Governor.
Anyway, a new Quinnipiac poll was released on April 29th showing the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania with a horrific approval rating of 29%. Yes, that’s right; 29%. Corbett is now only about 20% more popular than Congress and probably about equal with Nickelback in terms of things people actually like.
Still, this is awful news for Pennsylvania Republicans and the Corbett camp and probably will bring up questions if Corbett should choose to not seek re-election to ensure that the PA GOP has a shot at retaining the governor’s mansion. Of course, let’s do a quick run through on why Tom Corbett is as unpopular as he is.
- On invasive “transvaginal” ultrasounds, Corbett suavely stated that women should just “close your eyes”.
- The cut of $650 million from public higher education in Corbett’s first budget proposal.
- Blaming “drug users” for the reason why the state’s unemployment rating is high.
- His role as Attorney General in not prosecuting Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky for child sexual abuse.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg in reasons why Tom Corbett is unpopular though I’m sure you can all go home and figure out other reasons why this man courts a 29% approval rating.
But in even more troublesome news for the Governor, he’s starting to lose some serious ground to his likely top two Democratic challengers in Rep. Allyson Schwartz and former Rep. Joe Sestak.
In three hypothetical matchups, Corbett gets demolished:
- Vs. Sestak, Corbett trails 34%-48%
- Vs. Schwartz, he trails 34%-47%
- Vs. State Treasurer Rob McCord, Corbett is down 35%-44%
Now while Sestak has higher name recognition thanks to his failed run for the US Senate in 2010, he still hasn’t made a decision on whether to make the foray into the race. Schwartz on the other hand, represents parts of Philadelphia and is well-known amongst the state while McCord appears to be the most well-known amongst the remaining potential challengers including Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski.
All in all though, really could this have happened to a better guy? While the Republican Party was proud of its ability to win many gubernatorial elections, with people like Corbett representing you, it might be fools gold.
