PPP: Republican governors highly vulnerable in PA, FL, OH and ME

[RandySF]

Many of the Republicans who were swept into office by the wave election of 2010 may have a hard time winning a second term if 2014 doesn't prove to be another huge year for their party.

In Pennsylvania Tom Corbett trails a generic Democrat 47/37. In Maine Paul LePage trails a hypothetical opponent from the opposite party 49/41. Both of them became unpopular pretty early in their terms and have stayed that way.

Other Republicans who look highly vulnerable next time around are Florida's Rick Scott who trails a generic Democrats 48/44, and Ohio's John Kasich who leads a potential foe only 44/43. The good news for these folks at least is that their numbers have been on an upward trajectory during their second year in office- they both trailed by much wider margins at this time a year ago.

Three other Republican Governors elected in 2010 lead hypothetical Democratic opponents for 2014 by single digit margins- they look like favorites for now but could become more vulnerable. Those are Michigan's Rick Snyder (47/41 against a generic Dem), Wisconsin's Scott Walker (50/43), and Iowa's Terry Branstad (49/40). All three of these Governors posted pretty poor numbers during their first year in office but have seen significant improvement in their standing in year 2.


http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/11/an-early-look-at-the-2014-governor-landscape.html

[Shilo]

1. I should hope they stay vulnerable. In politics, two years is an eternity.

Hopefully we can get the base out for the mid term.

[dchill]

2. Honestly, do we really need PPP...

to tell us that?

[Michigan Alum]

3. Rick Scott is Toast! We just need to be sure to find someone decent to run.

Sink would beat him in a rematch. Crist would totally wallop him.

[Divernan]

4. In PA, Corbett is known as One Term Tom

First he sat on the Sandusky investigation for a couple of years while he was Attorney General and running for Governor, while collecting sizeable campaign checks from board members of Sandusky's foundation/victim pool. Once elected Governor, he incurred the wrath of all graduates and current/future students and their families of the state's public colleges and universities, by slashing state funding 40%. Then he pissed off all the Penn State alumni by bragging how he, Corbett, manipulated the abrupt,over-the-phone firing of Joe Paterno. (Paterno had refused to endorse Corbett in the Governor's race.)

And I haven't even mentioned how he's whored out the state to the fracking industry by refusing to impose extraction fees (even Bush's Texas and Palin's Alaska collect hefty extraction fees) on Big Gas; over-riding local communities zoning restrictions; and gutting the state's Dept. of Environmental Protection to prevent reasonable scientific monitoring/testing of the impact of fracking operations on public health and welfare, and local government's infrastructures.

He doubtless will be appointed to multiple boards of oil and gas companies and make millions, once he leaves public office. I think he should be run out of the state.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

8. Worst thing that ever happened to my state, that Fucking Frack Whore.

[kelliekat44]

9. PA rural and country folks love fracking...so long as it isn't in their backyards.

[PennsylvaniaMatt]

17. Corbett is HATED among educators

And parents in the state...even in rural areas

[sigmasix]

5. Hoosiers too

Indiana could go to the dems too if the party offers the right conservative democrat in the election. Mitch Daniels has completely screwed the state up while privatizing everything in sight. The new Republican/F*x "news" party has to come up with a new guy for the next election though (daniels is not up for re-election), so it would require some work from indiana dems and the DNC's economic help to make sure hoosiers are educated about Mitch and the Indiana Republican party's responsibility for most of the problems Indiana faces.

[Jim Lane]

14. No, the election in Indiana was last week.

Mike Pence, who had been a prominent right-winger in Congress, was elected to a four-year term as Governor of Indiana. He's one possibility for the Republican nomination for President in 2016.

[sigmasix]

18. me being unaware

I moved from indiana some years back and wasnt paying close attention to the state in the prior election- my bad- I thought there was another two years left on Daniel's ticket. Too bad they picked pence; he was a teabagger enthusiast when he was a congressman. Northern Indiana is usually the bluest part of the state- they've been stuck with southern teabagger klan members and other far right left-overs from Indiana's troubled history as the birth-place of the modern American KKK.

[dem4ward]

6. FL & OH should be easy considering

the Right-wing voter suppression extravaganza!

[xxqqqzme]

7. What about governor

vaginal ultra sound probe in Virginia? I have friends there who took part in the silent protest. Women are not too thrilled w/ him.

[SamKnause]

10. Voting

I can't wait to vote against John Kasich and John Boehner.

It will be a happy day if they get voted out of office.

[outsideworld]

11. vote vote VOTE THEM OUT

[PCIntern]

12. what pisses me off beyond belief is that here in PA

we told these RW leaning assholes that this wasn't going to work here - that these guys were gonna take every cent out of the altruism sector and put it into fracking, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, not these stupid bastards. Now we're in trouble, and who'da thunk it, right?

These miserable oafs will never learn...EVER.

[HughBeaumont]

13. Going around Ohio now . . .

[quispquake]

15. We need Lepage out of Maine...

The state congress flipping back to Democratic is probably giving him conniptions...Basically, he's now a lame duck for the next two years, and I couldn't be happier...

[mainer]

16. LePage will be gone from Maine next election

He got into office with only 39% of the vote, because we had a three-way election. This time around, the Dems are going to have to play it smart and coalesce around someone who can win. The way we did with Angus King.