With the midterm election less than six weeks away, one-third of Pennsylvania’s likely voters say they haven’t heard of Stacy Garrity, the Republican nominee for governor, according to a new poll.
The poll from The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University also shows Garrity, the state’s treasury secretary, down by 20 percentage points in her race against Democratic incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro, 58% to 38%.
That’s in line with other polling done on the race. RealClearPolitics, which tracks major public polls, showed Shapiro with an average lead of 23 points on Thursday afternoon.
Garrity’s campaign did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
“It is really hard to put a positive spin for Garrity on that poll,” said Kristin Kanthak, associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh.
Lew Irwin, a political science professor at Duquesne University, said Garrity’s inability to raise more money for advertising and other campaign activities compounds her problems heading into the Nov. 3 election.
Shapiro spent 20 times more money than Garrity ($31.8 million to $1.6 million) in the 13-week period that ended Sept. 4, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday.
The filings also showed that Shapiro’s campaign brought in nearly $13.4 million during the latest reporting period compared to $1.6 million for Garrity’s. Shapiro ended the period with $19.9 million in available cash, while Garrity had $1.4 million.
With such an advantage, Irwin said, “Shapiro is just able to dominate the message.”
“The strongest indicator, whether (Republicans) will admit it or not, is that donors just don’t see this as a winnable race,” Irwin said. “Donors are pretty savvy in the investments they make, and they are not going to throw money at a race where they don’t think they have a chance to win.”
Kanthak noted that Shapiro is “one of the few governors out there who is above water — more people like him than don’t. That’s saying a lot in politics these days.”
The Times/Inquirer/Siena poll showed that 62% of likely voters in Pennsylvania have a favorable opinion of Shapiro, while 32% have an unfavorable one.
In addition to the 33% of likely voters who said they had not heard of Garrity, another 11% said they didn’t have an opinion of her or they refused to answer. About 29% said they had a favorable opinion of Garrity, while 27% didn’t, the poll showed.
Other findings from the poll:
About 57% of likely voters said they think U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, is more of a Republican than a Democrat, while 26% think he’s more of a Democrat than a Republican. Once considered a rising progressive star, Fetterman has faced intense criticism from fellow Democrats and praise from many Republicans for breaking with his party and showing a willingness to work with President Donald Trump on certain issues.About 63% of likely voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, while 34% approve.A majority of likely voters disapprove of the way Trump has handled issues including the cost of living (75%), gas prices (73%), the war in Iran (68%), the economy (65%), tariffs (59%) and immigration (58%).
The poll surveyed 615 voters between Sept. 15 and Tuesday. It has a margin of error of about 4.4%.