A new Pa. voter poll shows high marks for Gov. Shapiro after I-95 collapse; Sen. Fetterman is less popular

Gov. Josh Shapiro took center stage during the response to the I-95 collapse, and the spotlight and swift reopening of the major roadway showed in his job approval rating, according to new poll.

In the poll released this week by Quinnipiac University, a majority of voters surveyed — 57% — said they approved of the job Shapiro is doing, with 23% disapproving and 20% without an opinion.

Asked about I-95 specifically, 74% of voters said they approved of Shapiro’s handling of the response, 8% disapproved, and 18% had no opinion.

The poll also showed former President Donald Trump had a commanding early lead with Pennsylvania voters in the GOP race toward the nomination.

The poll found Trump had the support of 49% of registered Republican voters in the state, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 25%.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence each received 5% support. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott garnered 4%. All other listed candidates received 1% or less.

In a head-to-head general election match-up, President Joe Biden and Trump were in a dead heat in Pennsylvania, the poll found.

It’s extremely early to poll on primary match-ups, let alone the general election. A poll in Wisconsin this week had Biden leading Trump by 9 points in that swing state.

Still, Trump’s lead in the GOP primary mirrors his edge in other key swing states and in the early primary voting states. Pennsylvania isn’t slated to vote in the presidential primary until April 23, though that date will likely change because it falls on Passover. It’s unclear if voters here will have much of a say in who wins the nomination.

Trump leads the GOP field while also facing multiple indictments. Half of Pennsylvania voters said he should be prosecuted on criminal charges over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Forty-four percent of respondents said he should not be prosecuted.

A majority of voters — 56% — said the prosecution is politically motivated, while 41% said the case is mainly motivated by the law.

While Biden has largely ignored any primary challengers, about a quarter of Democrats in Pennsylvania said they would support another Democrat. Biden had 71% support among Democrats while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, got 17%, and author and 2019 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson received 5%.

Biden held his first election rally in Philadelphia earlier this month. He previewed a campaign message centered on his economic and infrastructure policies and promised to deliver for working-class Americans.

In a hypothetical 2024 general election contest between Biden and Trump, the race was virtually tied, with 47% of registered voters supporting Trump and 46% supporting Biden.

Republicans broke 89% for Trump and Independents 51%, while 94% of registered Democrats said they supported Biden.

Pennsylvania’s two Democratic senators got different marks in the survey. Sen. Bob Casey, who is in his third term, had a positive 44% job approval rating, with 32% giving him a negative rating and 24% not offering an opinion.

Freshman Sen. John Fetterman, received a 39% approval rating and a 50% disapproval rating, with 10% not offering an opinion.

Last summer, Fetterman campaigned or the seat while simultaneously recovering from a stroke, which has affected his speech. He began his term in January, and was later hospitalized for six weeks to receive treatment for clinical depression. He returned fulltime to the Senate in April.

Biden fared the worst in the job approval category, with just 39% of voters saying they approved of the job he was doing, and 57% disapproving.

Asked to pick between eight issues and select which would have the greatest impact on their vote in the presidential election, 30% of voters said the economy, 28% said preserving democracy, 9% said gun violence, 8% said abortion, 7% said immigration, 6% said health care, 4% said climate change, and 3% said racial inequality.

Among Republicans, the economy ranked first (47%), followed by preserving democracy in the United States (23 percent), and immigration (12 percent).

Among Democrats, preserving democracy ranked first (34 percent), followed by gun violence (18 percent), and abortion (13 percent).

Among Independents, the economy (36 percent) and preserving democracy in the United States (30 percent) were the top issues.

Pollsters surveyed 1,584 Pennsylvania self-identified registered voters from June 22-26 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Survey answers within the sample of Democrats and Republican voters had a margin of error of about plus or minus 4 percentage points.