Shapiro Holds 59 to 36 Lead Over Garrity 11 Days Before Election Day
With 11 days left before Election Day, the gap in the Pennsylvania governor’s race is not closing.
A Franklin & Marshall College poll released Wednesday found Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, leading State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican nominee, by 59 percent to 36 percent among likely voters, the same margin the pollster recorded in June. The survey of 808 registered voters was conducted from Oct. 7 to 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
The lead is not a verdict on Shapiro’s popularity. His job approval rating sits underwater, with 44 percent of voters rating his performance excellent or good and 48 percent rating it fair or poor. The pollster attributes the gap instead to Garrity’s low profile. Forty-two percent of voters said they do not know enough about her to form an opinion, leaving the Republican little known across much of the state in the campaign’s final stretch.
Voters’ view of their own finances was bleak. Forty-five percent said they are worse off than a year ago, and the economy ranked as the top concern for every partisan group, named by 32 percent of respondents. Asked which party would handle the economy better, voters chose the Democrats by 46 percent to 21 percent.
The survey also tested a local issue moving through Pennsylvania communities. Sixty-one percent of voters said automated license plate readers, cameras that record passing plates, threaten civil liberties more than they help solve crimes, and 65 percent opposed their use by local police. The opposition crossed party lines, at 67 percent among Democrats, 58 percent among independents and 54 percent among Republicans.
On vaccines, 70 percent of voters said the state should do more to encourage vaccination, and 80 percent said vaccines are safe and effective. Support for a stronger state push split sharply by party, at 92 percent among Democrats, 72 percent among independents and 49 percent among Republicans.
Pennsylvanians vote on Nov. 3. Applications for mail-in ballots close at 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, and completed ballots must reach county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.