The best poll of the day -
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x11385.xml?ReleaseID=650
Pennsylvania voters give incumbent Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell mixed grades, including a 51 - 33 percent approval rating, but he has solid early leads over possible Republican challengers, including Bill Scranton and Lynn Swann, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today.
Gov. Rendell had a 52 - 30 percent approval rating in a September 16, 2004, poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University.
Match-ups between Rendell and possible Republican challengers show:
* Rendell over State Sen. Jeff Piccola 52 - 28 percent;
* The Governor tops former Lt. Gov. William Scranton III 50 - 35 percent;
* Rendell over former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann 50 - 34 percent.
A lot of people were worried about the Lynn Swann challenge - the assumption was that a black Republican football star could pull a lot of the base Dem vote. And he COULD be a strong candidate. But it's encouraging that he doesn't bring Rendell below 50 percent. Remember those Illinois polls that put Ditka within single digits of Obama?