Graphic courtesy of the MORNING CALL
MORNING CALL: Republican Gov. Tom Corbett remains far behind his Democratic rival Tom Wolf despite spending millions of dollars on television commercials this summer, according to a new voter poll.The Franklin & Marshall College Poll, released this morning, is the first survey of Pennsylvania voters since the candidates started airing political commercials shortly after the 4th of July holiday weekend. The results don’t look good for Corbett, who could become the first incumbent governor to lose re-election in the modern era if he does not find a way to connect with voters before the Nov. 4 election. The F&M poll, as well as other polls, were highly accurate in predicting Wolf would win the Democratic primary election in May. The latest F&M poll shows Wolf, a wealthy York businessman and former state Revenue secretary, holding a lead of 25 percentage points over Corbett, the former prosecutor-turned-governor. The poll also found only one-in-four voters thinks Corbett deserves a second term. Only 40 percent of Republicans rated Corbett as doing an “excellent” or “good” job in his first term, which began in January 2011.Corbett’s main public relations problem remains widespread anger over education funding cuts Corbett imposed in his first budget, 2011-12. MORE