(The Center Square) – Mirroring a trend of other recent polls, Gov. Josh Shapiro holds a double-digit lead over Republican challenger Stacy Garrity, as a majority of voters approve of the governor’s job performance.
According to a New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll conducted among 760 voters in Pennsylvania from Aug. 17-21, 55% said they would vote for Shapiro, a Democrat, for a second term, while 39% said they’d back Garrity, the GOP State Treasurer, in the governor’s race, and 6% said they either don’t know or refused to answer.
Shapiro and Garrity hold significant majorities among voters registered with their respective parties, although the governor holds a double-digit lead with independents.
Ninety-five percent of Democrats support Shapiro’s bid, while 2% back Garrity’s campaign. Eighty-four percent of Republicans say they are supporting Garrity in the race, while 12% say they are backing Shapiro’s bid for a second term.
Fifty percent of independents say they are more likely to vote for Shapiro if the general election were held today, while 36% said they would vote for Garrity.
The latest poll, which breaks down how various demographics voted, shows Shapiro leading in nearly every category.
Fifty-eight percent of women said they support Shapiro, while 35% say they are back Garrity. For men, it’s 50% and 45%, respectively.
Shapiro led in every age category, which is broken down into four groups, although his biggest advantage comes with those 44-years-old and younger. Sixty-seven percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 support Shapiro, while 25% back Garrity. Voters between the ages of 30 and 44 back Shapiro over Garrity by a 61% to 28% margin.
Fifty-one percent of voters between 45-64 said they are planning to vote for Shapiro, while 44% said Garrity. And for voters 65 years of age and older, 52% back Shapiro, while 43% support Garrity.
Sixty percent of voters either strongly or somewhat approve of Shapiro’s handling of his job as governor, while 33% either strongly or somewhat disapprove. Results were nearly identical when voters were asked for their opinion of Shapiro, with 60% reporting a very or somewhat favorable view of him, while 33% reported an unfavorable view. Six percent said they didn’t know their opinion of Shapiro or refused to answer that question, while less than 1% said they had not heard of him.
Although President Donald Trump won’t be on the ballot in November, he’s been mentioned often on the campaign trail by the Shapiro campaign as Democrats continue to tie Garrity to the president’s agenda.
Garrity has touted Trump backing her in the race for governor and described herself as a “strong ally” of the president on her campaign website, while the two appeared together in a video earlier this month in the Oval Office.
Despite winning the Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes in 2024, a majority of voters said they don’t approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency.
Fifty-eight percent of Pennsylvania likely voters either strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump’s job performance, while 39% either strongly approve or somewhat approve of the president’s handling of his job.
More voters have a favorable view of Garrity as opposed to an unfavorable view, although a sizable number said they still don’t have an opinion of the GOP candidate or haven’t heard of her. Thirty-seven percent said that they have either a very or somewhat favorable view of Garrity, while 26% said they have an unfavorable view of her. Twenty-three percent, however, said they either don’t know or refused to answer when asked about their view of Garrity, while 14% said they haven’t heard of her.
Voters were given 24 different options when asked what issue was most important in deciding their vote for governor. Topping the list, registering at 22%, was the economy, which includes jobs and the stock market. The only other selection to reach double digits was inflation and cost of living, which received 10% of the vote.
On Aug. 18, Shapiro announced an executive order which he said put the "strictest guardrails in the nation" on data centers. While the poll was conducted from Aug. 17-21, a majority of voters said they opposed the construction of data centers to support artificial intelligence technology in the U.S.
Sixty-two percent said that they either strongly or somewhat opposed the construction of data centers, while 33% said they support it.
A majority of polls this cycle have shown Shapiro holding a double-digit advantage over Garrity, including a RealClear polling average showing a 19-point lead.
