A new poll shows Pennsylvania voters deeply unhappy and pessimistic about the economy and the way President Donald Trump is handling it.
Almost a third of voters (31%) named the economy as the most important problem facing the state, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll. That includes concerns about their finances, unemployment, housing costs and higher gasoline and utility prices.
By a 2 to 1 margin, they think Democrats are best suited to handle economic problems (47% to 23%). Four of every nine voters (44%) think they are worse off than a year ago; and more than half find it very or somewhat difficult to pay utility bills (57%), grocery costs (55%) and entertainment or recreation (55%).
More voters (32%) also expect to be worse off financially a year from now than expect better (20%), according to the poll.
“I was surprised at the number of people who say they've had difficulties, at least some difficulties, paying for some of those basic needs, right?” poll director Berwood Yost said. “And it isn't just immigration, or it isn't just inflation; it's (also) foreign policy. And so basically people are very dissatisfied.”
Blaming Trump
Voters blame the Republican president. Fewer than a third (27%) think Trump is doing a good or excellent job compared to almost three quarters (73%) who think he’s doing a fair or poor job, the poll found.
That’s a sharp decline since F&M’s poll last October when Trump stood at more than 2 in 5 approval (41%).
It’s also the lowest job-approval rating for a president during a mid-term election campaign among state voters since at least 2006.
Majority control of the U.S. House flipped in every mid-term election since then except for 2014. The poll shows more voters (48%) likely to vote for the Democratic Party candidate for Congress than the Republican (36%).
Democrats are favored to win control of the U.S. House, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said he expects his party to expand its majority during a Wilkes-Barre visit last week.
Only one in three voters (33%) believe the president’s policies helped them personally, the poll says.
Trump down across the board
Trump’s job approval on specific policies is also down sharply since October.
- Immigration, 38%, down from 47% in October.
- Foreign policy, 26%, down from 47% in October.
- Inflation, 15%, down from 31% in October.
“I mean, there's just not a lot of good news in there for Republicans,” Yost said.
Yost said he isn’t sure the president can reverse the trend.
“Never say never, but it's hard to imagine that most of this stuff isn't baked in,” he said.
They like Shapiro more
Though more voters (45%) think the state is on the wrong track than headed in the right direction (41%), Gov. Josh Shapiro’s job approval rating is better than Trump’s – with almost half (47%) saying he’s doing a good or excellent job and the same percentage saying he’s doing a fair or poor job.
The poll shows Shapiro continuing to lead Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity as he seeks a second four-year term – 50% to 25%, or about the same as F&M’s June poll. At least two other recent polls have Shapiro leading by fewer than 20 percentage points.
