Speed Reads

2014 Watch

Poll: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) trailing by 25 points

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Incumbent Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) seems on course for an almost-certain defeat this November, according to the latest survey from Democratic-aligned firm Public Policy Polling.

Corbett's Democratic opponent, businessman Tom Wolf, leads with 55 percent support, trailed distantly by Corbett at just 30 percent. Furthermore, Corbett's approval rating is only 27 percent, with a disapproval of 58 percent. The poll was conducted from last Friday, May 30, through Sunday, June 1, and has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

It is worth considering that if the immediate roles in this race were reversed, and the Democratic candidate Wolf were already the incumbent governor with a 25-point lead over his opponent, then this race would be virtually ignored on the grounds that it was not at all competitive.

The New York Times profiled Corbett a month ago, detailing how he has been unable to bounce back from the unpopularity of his first year in office, during which he presided over large-scale budget cuts and teacher layoffs.