Corbett Struggles in New Quinnipiac Poll

Pennsylvania voters are giving Governor Tom Corbett poor marks half-way through his first term.  Today’s Quinnipiac Poll finds that voters disapprove of the job Corbett is doing by a margin of 42 – 36%.  That’s down from a 40 – 38% approval rating in November’s Quinnipiac Poll.

Pollster Tim Malloy says there’s no strong base of support for Corbett among any income or age group, or in any region of the state.  “It’s halftime in Gov. Tom Corbett’s first term and if he were running a football team instead of a state, he’d fire his offensive coordinator,” Malloy said in a statement.

While 50% of PA voters disapprove of the way Corbett has handled the Penn State scandal over these past 15-months, the poll finds that they do support his lawsuit challenging the NCAA sanctions by a margin of 43 – 37%.

53% of voters say the sanctions – including a four year bowl ban and $60-million dollar fine – were too severe.  13% told pollsters they weren’t severe enough.  Meanwhile, voters do have a favorable opinion of the late Joe Paterno (43 – 29%).