Poll+Shows+Corbett's+Approval+Ratings+Have+Eroded

= Poll: Corbett's approval ratings have eroded = = 39 percent approve; 37 percent disapprove = = =

=By James O'Toole,= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//4/28/11//=

=Gov. Tom Corbett's job approval ratings have eroded sharply among voters who appear to be suffering from the political version of buyers' remorse.= =A new Quinnipiac University poll found that 39 percent of the state's voters say they approve of the way the Republican is handling his job, edging the 37 percent who say they disapprove. But that disapproval number was more than triple the 11 percent who said they had a negative view of Mr. Corbett in the last Quinnipiac survey in February.= =The Quinnipiac results were consistent with those of a Public Policy Polling survey conducted earlier this month that found a slight plurality of disapproval for the Corbett polices. That survey also found that Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, who was soundly defeated by Mr. Corbett in last year's race for governor, was actually running ahead of the incumbent in a hypothetical rematch.= =In results released Wednesday, a plurality of voters also told Public Policy Polling that they would be more likely to vote for a generic Democrat over a Republican congressional candidate, a finding that suggests another sharp swing in sentiment in a state in which Republicans picked up five House seats last November. That result represented a reversal of a Democratic tide that had marked the state's two previous federal elections, in 2006 and 2008.= =Forty-four percent of the Allegheny County residents surveyed told the Quinnipiac researchers that they disapproved of Mr. Corbett's job performance while 41 percent said they approved of his early record in Harrisburg. That was another rebuff for the Shaler resident who narrowly carried his home county over Mr. Onorato last year. In southwestern Pennsylvania beyond the county's borders, however, Mr. Corbett enjoyed his highest approval rating of any region in the state, with 47 percent approving and 41 percent disapproving of his performance.= =Half of those surveyed said they thought that the governor's proposals to bridge the state's massive budget gap were unfair to people like them, while 39 percent said they believed they were fair. There was more agreement on the depth of the problems facing the state; 66 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Democrats agreed that the budget problems were "very serious."= =A distinct partisan split did emerge on whether layoffs of state workers should be part of the budget solution. Overall, 50 percent said they opposed layoffs, while 43 percent said they favored such a move. Republicans, however, favored layoffs, 62 percent to 33 percent, while Democrats opposed them, 64 percent to 29 percent. Independent voters, on the other hand, were split evenly on the layoff question.= =Voters opposed the idea of leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private bidder to help balance the budget but they did support the notion of selling the state's liquor stores to a private owner. Sixty-four percent said they favored disposing of the stores while 28 percent opposed the idea -- proportions that have barely budged in the three years Quinnipiac has been asking that question.= =In positions at odds with the Corbett administration, the voters strongly supported proposals to tax firms drilling for natural gas in the state, but they opposed the idea of cuts in state spending for higher education.= =In a statement released with the results, Peter Brown, the assistant director of Quinnipiac's polling institute, noted that while Mr. Corbett's numbers were less than stellar, they were actually better than those of several fellow Republican governors now grappling with similar budget woes.= =Politics Editor James O'Toole: jotoole@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1562.= = = =Read more: [] = = = = = = = =news= =home=