Voters dislike both front-runners
They may be the front-runners in the race for president, but that does not necessarily make them popular in Pennsylvania.
They may be the front-runners in the race for president, but that does not necessarily make them popular in Pennsylvania.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hold leads in their respective parties among likely voters in the April 26 primary, according to a Franklin and Marshall College Poll being released Thursday.
But both suffer when independents and opposition party members are added to the mix. More than half of those polled viewed each unfavorably.
The poll of 985 voters, conducted from Feb. 13 to Sunday, found:
Clinton, the former secretary of state, leads U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont by 21 points, 48 percent to 27 percent, among Democratic voters.
Trump, the billionaire real estate developer, leads the Republicans with 22 percent. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has 16 percent while Ohio Gov. John Kasich moved up to a statistical tie for second place at 15 percent, up from 3 percent in a similar poll last month. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas fell from second place in last month's poll to a close fourth, with 12 percent.
Poll Director G. Terry Madonna credits Kasich's ties to Pennsylvania - he grew up in McKees Rocks, near Pittsburgh, and now governs a neighboring state - for his boost.
"I don't think he's going to win it," Madonna said of the Republican nomination for president. "But it doesn't surprise me that he has an uptick."
Clinton is viewed favorably by 65 percent of the Democrats in the poll but unfavorably by 56 percent of all voters surveyed.
The number of people who hold a "strongly favorable" opinion of her dropped from 53 percent in February 2014 to 19 percent this month, while her "strongly unfavorable" rating jumped from 6 percent to 44 percent in the same two-year span.
Marcel Groen, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, blames that on Clinton's name being thrown around derisively in the previously crowded Republican field.
"The Republican candidates have single-mindedly focused on trying to destroy Secretary Clinton's reputation," Groen said. "They stop at nothing."
Trump's popularity is split among Republican voters - he is viewed favorably by 45 percent and unfavorably by 42 percent, the poll shows. Among all voters, he has an unfavorable rating of 62 percent
Rob Gleason, chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said the poll reflects opinions formed by voters from the media, since the presidential candidates have not campaigned in this state.
"High negatives always worry me," Gleason said. "But if both of the candidates have high negatives, it's not so much of a problem, right?"
The popularity of the presidential front-runners can impact other races, most notably the contest for U.S. Senate.
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County leads with 21 percent for the Democratic primary to challenge Sen. Pat Toomey, a Lehigh County Republican seeking a second term. Sestak lost to Toomey in the 2010 general election.
Katie McGinty, a Philadelphia native and Gov. Wolf's former chief of staff, had 12 percent, while Braddock Mayor John Fetterman had 8 percent. Fifty-six percent of the Democrats in the poll were undecided about the race.
Joe Vodvarka, a semiretired spring manufacturer from Clinton, near Pittsburgh, has also filed to run in the Democratic primary but was not included in the poll.
"This race really has a long way to go," Madonna said. "It could be won by the first candidate who gets up on television."
Having Clinton, who has strong support in Southeastern Pennsylvania and family ties to Scranton, as the Democratic nominee could be trouble for Toomey, Madonna said.
Toomey may also face difficulty with indifference about his candidacy and being linked to a presidential nominee he has so far avoided if Trump is the candidate.
The poll showed 39 percent are undecided about Toomey or have no opinion of him, while 33 percent see him unfavorably and 29 percent viewed him favorably.
Toomey has endorsed Rubio. He skipped a large annual fund-raiser put on in New York in December by the Pennsylvania Republican Party at which Trump was the speaker.
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@ByChrisBrennan