June 14, 2011 - Big Gender Gap Keeps Pennsylvania Gov's Approval Low, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Support Natural Gas Drilling 2-1 Word format A big gender gap leaves Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett stuck with a split 39 - 38 percent job approval rating, with 23 percent of voters still undecided as the new governor approaches the six- month mark, according to a Quinnipiac University poll release today. Men approve of Gov. Corbett 48 - 34 percent, but women disapprove 43 - 30 percent, an 18-point gender gap, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. This compares to Corbett's split 39 - 37 percent approval rating April 27, when there was a 7-point gender gap. In today's survey, Pennsylvania voters say 51 - 14 percent, including 45 - 16 percent among women, that they like Corbett as a person. But they don't like his policies 43 - 38 percent, including 49 - 31 percent among women. Voters disapprove 52 - 33 percent of the way Corbett is handling the state budget and say 48 - 36 percent that Corbett's proposals to balance the budget are unfair to people like them. Democrats say unfair 66 - 19 percent while Republicans say fair 55 - 31 percent. Independent voters say unfair 45 - 38 percent. "Gov. Tom Corbett gets a mixed overall approval rating, despite getting a negative approval rating for his handling of the budget. Voters like him personally more than they do his policies," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The good news for the governor is that his numbers have apparently stabilized after falling sharply in our last poll in April. Also, he is not in negative territory like other new Republican governors such as Florida Gov. Scott and Ohio Gov. Kasich. On the other hand, after five months in office, no governor could feel good about being at 39 percent in job approval." "At this point in his term, it is unusual to have this many voters still undecided about the governor's job performance," Malloy added. "Corbett's low approval among women is due in part because women are more likely to disapprove of his handling of the budget. In particular, they are more likely to say they disapprove of cutting funding to state universities, opposing this step 67 - 26 percent." Pennsylvania voters say 49 - 44 percent that the governor should be the highest paid state public employee. Wages and benefits for state workers are too high, 45 percent of voters say, while 12 percent say they are too low and 34 percent say they are about right. Pennsylvania voters say 63 - 30 percent that the economic benefits of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale outweigh the environmental impacts. Support is strong among men, women, all parties and in all regions, ranging from 55 - 38 percent among voters in the northeast corner of the state to 69 - 25 percent among voters in the northwest corner. Voters support 69 - 24 percent a new tax on companies drilling for natural gas. Even Republicans support such a tax 59 - 33 percent. Support tops 60 percent among all other groups and in all regions. " 'Drill, baby, drill,' is the call from Pennsylvania voters, and 'tax, baby, tax,' is the follow-up as voters see natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale as an economic plus more than an environmental negative," Malloy said. "They also see added taxes on gas drillers as one of the few acceptable ways to help balance the budget." Looking at other possible budget-balancing steps, Pennsylvania voters: Support 69 - 25 percent selling state liquor stores; Oppose 54 - 34 percent leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company; Support 70 - 26 percent a wage freeze for state employees; Split 45 - 47 percent on layoffs for state employees; Oppose 62 - 31 percent funding cuts for state and state-related universities. From June 7 - 12, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,277 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as governor? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Approve 39% 63% 21% 36% 48% 30% 36% Disapprove 38 18 57 37 34 43 46 DK/NA 23 19 22 27 19 27 18 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Approve 35% 32% 35% 36% 44% 46% 43% Disapprove 50 44 32 37 39 36 37 DK/NA 15 25 33 27 17 18 21 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as Governor? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 2011 2011 2011 Approve 39 39 39 Disapprove 38 37 11 DK/NA 23 24 50 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Approve 32% 43% 24% 32% 34% 31% 27% Disapprove 50 41 57 49 51 49 64 DK/NA 18 17 18 18 15 20 9 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Approve 33% 30% 43% 31% 26% 33% 31% Disapprove 48 56 41 46 56 50 53 DK/NA 19 15 17 23 18 18 16 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? (*Low also 25% Dec 2009) APPROVE..... High Low Jun 14 Jul 13 May 13 Apr 8 Mar 3 Apr 10 May 13 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2003 2010* Approve 32 28 25 31 29 49 25 Disapprove 50 57 59 54 59 24 59 DK/NA 18 15 16 14 12 27 16 9. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Pennsylvania today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Very satisfied 2% 3% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2% Smwht satisfied 37 42 37 33 39 36 28 Smwht dissatisfied 38 37 37 40 37 39 43 Very dissatisfied 22 18 24 25 22 23 26 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Very satisfied 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 3% 1% Smwht satisfied 39 42 35 38 28 36 39 Smwht dissatisfied 39 38 41 40 39 32 36 Very dissatisfied 20 19 24 17 31 29 24 DK/NA 1 - - 2 1 - 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Pennsylvania today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 Jul 13 Jun 05 Dec 15 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2002 2010 Very satisfied 2 2 4 2 3 8 2 Smwht satisfied 37 37 43 35 37 60 35 Smwht dissatisfied 38 33 36 37 38 22 37 Very dissatisfied 22 26 15 25 21 8 25 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 13. Do you think Tom Corbett has been a better governor than Ed Rendell, a worse governor, or about the same? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Better 29% 54% 7% 30% 35% 24% 27% Worse 25 7 43 24 25 26 39 About the same 38 32 40 40 33 42 25 DK/NA 8 7 9 7 7 9 9 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Better 26% 10% 28% 24% 40% 32% 38% Worse 27 45 22 35 16 25 13 About the same 36 31 43 36 34 37 42 DK/NA 11 15 7 5 10 6 7 14. Regardless of how you feel about Tom Corbett's policies, would you say you like or don't like Tom Corbett as a person? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Like 51% 64% 43% 49% 57% 45% 51% Don't Like 14 7 21 13 13 16 17 DK/NA 35 29 36 38 30 39 33 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Like 53% 46% 39% 51% 48% 62% 54% Don't Like 16 18 15 13 11 16 14 DK/NA 31 36 46 36 41 22 32 15. And regardless of how you feel about Tom Corbett as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Tom Corbett's policies? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Like 38% 64% 15% 40% 45% 31% 36% Don't Like 43 20 66 39 38 49 52 DK/NA 19 15 19 21 17 20 11 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Like 36% 22% 31% 37% 48% 50% 42% Don't Like 46 55 46 39 36 39 43 DK/NA 18 22 23 24 16 11 15 16. In general, do you think the wages and benefits for state public employees are too high, too low, or about right? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Too high 45% 63% 32% 45% 45% 46% 31% Too low 12 5 18 12 13 12 16 About right 34 25 39 36 34 34 42 DK/NA 9 8 11 7 9 9 11 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Too high 50% 31% 48% 45% 52% 48% 46% Too low 14 18 11 8 10 15 12 About right 30 40 36 34 31 29 34 DK/NA 6 11 6 13 7 8 9 17. Do you think Pennsylvania's governor should be the highest paid state public employee or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Yes 49% 56% 40% 55% 55% 43% 51% No 44 39 52 39 40 48 46 DK/NA 7 5 8 6 4 9 3 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Yes 52% 42% 43% 55% 53% 46% 49% No 42 55 52 37 43 49 42 DK/NA 7 4 5 9 5 5 9 18. How serious do you think Pennsylvania's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Very serious 61% 64% 60% 59% 59% 63% 67% Smwht serious 34 32 35 36 37 32 29 Not too serious 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 Not at all serious - - - 1 1 - - DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 2 1 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Very serious 49% 77% 54% 59% 62% 57% 66% Smwht serious 49 19 40 35 31 41 31 Not too serious 1 2 4 5 5 1 3 Not at all serious - - 1 - - 1 1 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 2 1 - TREND: How serious do you think Pennsylvania's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 Feb 20 2011 2011 2011 2010 2003 Very serious 61 65 61 60 32 Smwht serious 34 32 34 33 55 Not too serious 3 2 2 4 7 Not at all serious - 1 - 1 1 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 5 19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling the state budget? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Approve 33% 56% 13% 36% 42% 25% 33% Disapprove 52 29 72 48 47 56 57 DK/NA 15 15 15 16 12 19 10 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Approve 32% 27% 28% 36% 35% 35% 35% Disapprove 56 57 52 47 49 54 50 DK/NA 12 16 20 17 16 11 15 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling the state budget? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Approve 33 35 Disapprove 52 52 DK/NA 15 13 20. To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer - raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Raising taxes 35% 14% 56% 33% 33% 38% 38% Cutting services 52 78 28 53 58 46 49 DK/NA 13 8 16 14 9 16 13 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Raising taxes 41% 51% 31% 37% 25% 38% 30% Cutting services 46 30 57 51 65 47 59 DK/NA 13 19 12 12 10 15 12 TREND: To balance the state budget, if you had to choose, would you prefer raising taxes or cutting government programs and services? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 Feb 20 2011 2011 2011 2010 2003 Raising taxes 35 36 30 30 29 Cutting services 52 54 56 56 57 DK/NA 13 10 14 14 14 21. Do you think Governor Corbett's proposals to balance the state budget are fair or unfair to people like you? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Fair 36% 55% 19% 38% 43% 30% 29% Unfair 48 31 66 45 44 52 58 DK/NA 15 14 14 17 13 18 13 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Fair 42% 23% 35% 39% 34% 37% 40% Unfair 41 61 49 44 45 55 46 DK/NA 17 16 17 17 21 8 14 TREND: Do you think Governor Corbett's proposals to balance the state budget are fair or unfair to people like you? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Fair 36 39 Unfair 48 50 DK/NA 15 11 22. Do you think an increase in taxes is necessary to balance the budget or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Yes 39% 21% 54% 39% 39% 39% 41% No 55 74 39 56 57 54 56 DK/NA 6 5 7 4 4 8 3 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Yes 39% 45% 35% 43% 29% 41% 36% No 55 47 60 49 64 55 60 DK/NA 6 8 5 9 7 4 4 TREND: Do you think an increase in taxes is necessary to balance the budget or not? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Yes 39 40 No 55 55 DK/NA 6 5 23. In order to balance the state budget, Governor Corbett has proposed cuts in state spending. Do you think Corbett's cuts in state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Too far 35% 15% 57% 29% 32% 38% 43% Not far enough 21 29 10 25 28 16 19 About right 30 46 20 30 29 31 28 DK/NA 13 10 13 16 11 15 10 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Too far 38% 43% 33% 36% 31% 44% 29% Not far enough 19 19 19 20 30 21 23 About right 29 25 35 29 27 28 33 DK/NA 14 13 13 15 13 8 14 TREND: In order to balance the state budget, Governor Corbett has proposed cuts in state spending. Do you think Corbett's cuts in state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Too far 35 35 Not far enough 21 20 About right 30 31 DK/NA 13 14 24. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - layoffs for state employees? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 45% 63% 28% 49% 53% 39% 39% Oppose 47 31 66 41 42 53 57 DK/NA 7 6 6 10 5 9 4 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 45% 21% 42% 47% 54% 55% 51% Oppose 49 76 47 46 37 41 41 DK/NA 5 3 11 7 9 4 9 TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose layoffs for state employees? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2011 2011 2010 Support 45 43 52 51 Oppose 47 50 40 41 DK/NA 7 6 8 9 25. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - leasing the Pennsylvania turnpike to a private company? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 34% 44% 26% 36% 37% 32% 26% Oppose 54 45 61 55 57 52 63 DK/NA 12 11 13 9 6 16 11 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 31% 23% 37% 38% 28% 39% 36% Oppose 54 64 52 53 56 50 53 DK/NA 15 12 11 9 16 12 11 TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose leasing the Pennsylvania turnpike to a private company? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2011 2011 2010 Support 34 36 36 36 Oppose 54 53 51 52 DK/NA 12 11 13 12 26. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - selling off the state liquor stores? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 69% 80% 60% 70% 72% 66% 66% Oppose 25 13 33 26 23 26 30 DK/NA 6 6 7 4 4 8 4 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 70% 58% 72% 80% 63% 69% 66% Oppose 27 34 25 16 29 22 25 DK/NA 3 7 3 4 8 9 9 TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose selling off the state liquor stores? Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 Dec 15 2011 2011 2011 2010 Support 69 64 65 66 Oppose 25 28 26 26 DK/NA 6 8 9 8 27. To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose - a wage freeze for state employees? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 70% 78% 59% 76% 70% 70% 68% Oppose 26 19 37 22 27 26 30 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 3 4 2 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 67% 61% 75% 70% 74% 78% 70% Oppose 31 37 22 26 22 20 26 DK/NA 2 2 3 4 4 2 4 TREND: To help balance the state budget, do you support or oppose - a wage freeze for state employees? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Support 70 68 Oppose 26 27 DK/NA 3 5 28. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - cutting funding for state and state-related universities? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 31% 52% 15% 30% 37% 26% 31% Oppose 62 43 79 64 56 67 65 DK/NA 7 6 6 6 6 7 3 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 38% 20% 27% 29% 39% 30% 36% Oppose 60 74 65 66 52 67 55 DK/NA 3 6 8 5 9 3 9 TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - cutting funding for state and state-related universities? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Support 31 32 Oppose 62 64 DK/NA 7 4 29. To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - a new tax on companies drilling for natural gas in the state's Marcellus Shale? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Support 69% 59% 75% 75% 73% 66% 76% Oppose 24 33 17 21 24 23 20 DK/NA 7 8 8 4 3 11 3 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Support 68% 61% 67% 77% 62% 72% 70% Oppose 28 23 26 19 29 24 23 DK/NA 4 16 8 5 9 5 6 TREND: To help balance the state budget do you support or oppose - a new tax on companies drilling for natural gas in the state's Marcellus Shale? Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Support 69 69 Oppose 24 22 DK/NA 7 9 30. Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Corbett's budget proposal: A) Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts, or B) Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts. Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Only cuts 54% 78% 32% 57% 57% 52% 50% Taxes/Fewer cuts 39 17 60 37 38 40 45 DK/NA 7 5 7 6 5 8 5 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Only cuts 48% 38% 53% 50% 73% 55% 62% Taxes/Fewer cuts 46 53 40 45 22 34 32 DK/NA 5 9 7 5 5 10 6 TREND: Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Corbett's budget proposal - A)Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts, or B)Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts. Jun 14 Apr 27 2011 2011 Only cuts 54 55 Taxes/Fewer cuts 39 39 DK/NA 7 5 31. Some people say, there should be drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale because of the economic benefits. Others say, there should not be drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale because of the environmental impact. Which comes closer to your point of view? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHlds Drilling 63% 77% 52% 62% 68% 58% 67% No drilling 30 18 38 35 27 34 30 DK/NA 7 5 10 3 5 8 4 Alghny Philly NthEst SthEst NthWst SthWst Cntrl Drilling 58% 59% 55% 65% 69% 62% 67% No drilling 31 33 38 29 25 35 27 DK/NA 11 9 7 6 6 3 6
