(The Center Square) — As Pennsylvania starts another fiscal year with a late budget, the public wants more decisive leadership from Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Almost three-quarters of registered Pennsylvanian voters want Shapiro to “play a more active role in brokering a bipartisan deal to keep the state budget on track,” according to a new poll from the Commonwealth Foundation.
Democratic voters wanted more action from Shapiro (79%) than Republicans or independents (both 71%).
“What our polling shows for this quarter is that the governor needs to change course, abandon unpopular tax-and-spend policies, and embrace a more bipartisan approach if he wants to be successful,” said Erik Telford, senior vice president of public affairs for the Commonwealth Foundation.
The budget impasse came as no surprise; state leaders noted a deal wasn’t close before the June 30 deadline, though they remained optimistic that progress was being made.
Though voters want Shapiro to broker a compromise, they weren’t excited at the prospect of his budget proposal. The Commonwealth poll found that 54% of respondents opposed his budget and 34% supported it.
Not all is bleak for Democrats, however.
Gov. Shapiro still has a 58% approval rating. Voters prefer Democrats over Republicans for Congress 44-40. Sen. Bob Casey still holds a lead over Republican challenger Dave McCormick 48-36, with 15% undecided.
Voters also prefer a generic Democratic presidential candidate at 48-47, with Biden over Trump 45-44. The poll, though, was conducted June 14-19, before the presidential debate. But 60% of voters are dissatisfied with the choice of candidates — 47% said they refuse to vote for Trump and 46% said they refuse to vote for Biden.
Underlying those views are economic concerns: the top problems according to voters are inflation/cost of living, immigration, and the U.S. economy.
Only 13% of respondents said they were financially better off than two years ago and 40% said they were worse off. And though 60% rated Pennsylvania’s economic conditions as negative, 39% said it was a good time to find a quality job (with 35% saying it was a bad time).
“Some economic indicators may be positive when folks look at their grocery bill or their gas bill. Inflation is still very real and I know some, particularly in the Biden administration, have touted that there’s been a dip in cost — but that’s from soaring highs of stagflation,” Telford said. “When people look at their grocery bill, their gas bill, that rising cost of energy, they’re feeling that pocketbook pain.”
