Poll: Voters are not pleased with state government

(Lancaster) — A new poll shows Pennsylvanians are not all that happy with the direction at the state Capitol.

In the Franklin & Marshall College poll, two out of three registered voters said the state is “on the wrong track” and nearly half — 47 percent — say government and politicians are the biggest problem in the Commonwealth.

Poll Director Terry Madonna says seeing 67 percent of registered voters with those views is a pretty big deal.

“That’s up from 62 percent. That’s the highest number in any poll that I’ve done since 1995, when I think we put this on our polls for the first time,” he says.

Madonna says the numbers reflect the inability of lawmakers and the governor to effectively lead the state.

“That’s really an indication of the angst, the distrust and the dysfunction that the voters believe that exists in government today,” he says.

Governor Tom Wolf’s numbers are down in this latest poll with only 31 percent rating his job performance as excellent or good, but Madonna notes governors typically have a difficult first year, which was also the case for former Governors Tom Corbett and Ed Rendell.