Polls

PA wants civil unions, prefers OWS to Tea Party

| Dustin Ingalls

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
Pennsylvania joins the ranks of states which do not favor gay marriage but do want same-sex couples to have the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples.  Only 36% favor same-sex marriage, and 52% oppose it, but a combined 64% want these couples to at least have civil unions, including 75% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and even 52% of Republicans.

Tom Corbett’s numbers have ticked up a bit since PPP last polled the state in July.  The new governor gets approval from 37% of his constituents and disapproval from 43%.  Still at least 30 governors are more popular, based on PPP polling, but that mark is up five points from the 35-46 measured four months ago.  Likewise, were Corbett to face a hypothetical do-over against last fall’s opponent Dan Onorato, the two would tie at 45% now.  That sounds like bad news compared to Corbett’s nine-point victory then, but it continues steady improvent on this question from a five-point deficit in April and a three-point one in July.

Keystone State voters are split on the Occupy Wall Street movement, with 40% supporting its goals and 39% opposing them.  On the ideological flip side, the breakdown in voters’ opinion on the Tea Party mirrors that of their governor, who was elected in the Tea Party wave last fall.  37% support the goals of that movement, and 43% do not.  When asked of which of these two populist movements they have a higher opinion, voters choose O.W.S., 41-38.

Serving on the failed supercommittee has won new Sen. Pat Toomey a little more notoriety with his constituents, but it has not won him many net fans.  Still one of the most anonymous senators, Toomey’s name recognition is up in his home state from 59% to 68% since July, but the voters who have come off the fence are split, with his approval-disapproval spread now at 35-33 versus 30-29, up only one point on the margin.

PPP surveyed 500 Pennsylvania voters from November 17th to 20th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Tom Corbett’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 37%
Disapprove………… 43%
Not sure ……………. 20%

Q2 If you could do last fall’s election for Governor
over again, would you vote for Republican Tom
Corbett or Democrat Dan Onorato?
Tom Corbett ………. 45%
Dan Onorato ……… 45%
Not sure ……………. 10%

Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Pat
Toomey’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .35%
Disapprove…………. .33%
Not sure …………….. .32%

Q4 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote Democratic or Republican?
Democratic……………………………………………… 47%
Republican……………………………………………… 42%
Undecided………………………………………………. 12%

Q5 Do you support or oppose the goals of the
Occupy Wall Street movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 40%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q6 Do you support or oppose the goals of the Tea
Party movement?
Support ………………………………………………….. 37%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%

Q7 Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy
Wall Street movement or the Tea Party
movement?
Occupy Wall Street ………………………………….. 41%
Tea Party ……………………………………………….. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q8 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 36%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 52%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q9 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..29%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………35%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ed Rendell?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 38%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Arlen Specter?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 30%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q12 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 28%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 18%

Q13 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q14 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 49%
Republican……………………………………………… 41%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 9%

Q15 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 84%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%

Q16 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 16%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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