So, yes, the Quinnipiac Poll puts Arlen Specter well ahead of Pat Toomey in a head-to-head general-election matchup, and suggests Tom Ridge would give Specter a much tougher race.
We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking Toomey has anything but a tough road ahead – but there are a couple of items in that poll we shouldn’t overlook.
“I would vote for someone else” or “I wouldn’t vote” were not offered as options, but 3 percent volunteered those two answers to the pollster. Among registered Democrats, it was two percent in each. “Don’t know or no answer” was 10 percent overall, and 15 percent among Independents, 12 percent among women.
So there are some folks out there who aren’t relishing their options in a Specter-Toomey matchup.
Fascinatingly, 12 percent said they “haven’t heard enough” about Specter to have an opinion on him, including 13 percent of Democrats and 15 percent of women. That’s a shame; if only Specter had been in Congress longer, people might have a better idea of what kind of man he is.
Also Specter’s unfavorable rating is at a new high (at least in Quinnipiac’s recent polling), 34 percent.
By comparison, Pat Toomey is unknown, with 20 percent favorable, 13 percent unfavorable, and 67 percent saying they haven’t heard enough about him, including 57 percent of Republicans.