More great news today out of Pennsylvania courtesy of Politico/AARP’s latest poll:
Fewer than two years after Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Pennsylvania since 1988, a new POLITICO/AARP poll shows both Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Tom Wolf with double-digit leads over their GOP challengers. And Democrats have a slight edge on the generic congressional ballot — which, combined with a new, court-imposed congressional-district map unwinding GOP gerrymandering, portends major gains in next months’ elections.
The top issue for voters in Pennsylvania is health care: Nearly three-in-four, 74 percent, say it’s “very important” to their vote in November, outrating the economy and jobs (72 percent), Social Security (67 percent) and national security and terrorism (65 percent). For voters 50 and older, Social Security (81 percent) only slightly outpaces health care (79 percent).
In the Senate race, Casey leads Rep. Lou Barletta by 15 percentage points, 47 percent to 32 percent. Casey leads Barletta — a four-term congressman who forged his political identity as an immigration hardliner as the then-mayor of Hazelton, Pa. — by a similar margin among voters 50 and older, 49 percent to 34 percent.
Casey is one of 10 Senate Democrats seeking reelection this year in a state Trump won in 2016. But like his colleagues in other Midwestern states — Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Debbie Stabenow in Michigan and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin — he is a strong favorite for reelection. (The POLITICO/AARP poll was conducted October 1-2 — during the controversial Supreme Court nomination fight of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh — a time considered a high-water mark for Republican enthusiasm.)
Wolf, meanwhile, has a 12-point lead over former state Sen. Scott Wagner, 48 percent to 36 percent. Wagner has struggled to gain traction in his effort to unseat Wolf. The Republican released a Facebook video last week, in which he tells the incumbent, “Gov. Wolf — let me tell you — between now and November 6, you better put a catcher’s mask on your face because I’m going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes.”
The poll found health care to be the big issue with the Affordable Care Act being popular and voters giving Democrats a narrow lead on the General Congressional Ballot.
Let’s keep up the momentum and make sure Pennsylvania turns blue big time. Click below to donate and get involved with Casey, Wolf and their fellow Pennsylvania Democrats campaigns:
Bob Casey
Tom Wolf