Spotlight, PA – the independent non-profit news outlet – has recently published two interesting surveys that it had conducted with polling partner MassINC. One survey asked a cross-section of likely Pennsylvania voters their attitudes regarding policies that have been important to the Democratic caucus of the State House, such as universal background checks for firearms, a $15/hr. minimum wage, and discrimination protections based on sexual orientation. Below was the breakdown of their responses.
The poll has a sampling error of +/- 4 percentage points. Although polls should generally be taken with a grain of salt, it does seem to follow the direction of other polls, such as one commissioned two years ago by the Giffords Center, where 83% of Pennsylvanians surveyed supported background checks on all gun purchases, while 11% opposed them.
The second Spotlight survey complements the first, since it asks the question on a position that many Democrats oppose – school vouchers. When asked by the surveyors “whether they approve or disapprove of a proposal that ‘would use $100 million in taxpayer money to establish a voucher program that sends public school students to private or religious schools,’“ likely voters’ responses broke down in the following way:
These numbers contradict the results of other polls that have been conducted, generally by pro-voucher pollsters such as EdChoice; but, unlike EdChoice, Spotlight PA has no skin in the game. Paul DiPerna, vice president of research and innovation for EdChoice. admitted as much. When he was asked about the discrepancy, he said “voters tend to react negatively when asked about using ‘taxpayer money’ for a program, but are more amenable to using ‘government funding.’ “ And yet, it is in fact taxpayer money that is going to fund these programs.
Why then, aren’t there more incumbents in the state house and senate who reflect the Democratic values covered in these surveys? Part of the reason, no doubt, is because many of these districts are not competitive. Democrats and Republicans tend to cluster with their own within geographic areas in the state. But another reason is surely the misinformation campaigns that Republicans have run around crime, immigration, and the economy.
That is why the next few weeks are so crucial. If you can help with canvassing, phone banking, or with a financial contribution, that would be great. Here are some of the actions that you can take that hopefully will be of interest to you.
Canvass: Saturday, October 12 - Canvassers will be campaigning for Brian Munroe. Brian narrowly flipped the district two years ago. He has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Conservation Voters, and Pennsylvania’s AFL-CIO. The canvass starts at 10am. There is a carpool that leaves from High Point Allen Lane at 9am. You can sign up here.
Sunday, October 13 - Canvassers will be campaigning for Anna Payne. Anna has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, the Transport Workers Union, and Planned Parenthood. The canvass starts at 11am. There is a carpool that leaves from High Point Allen Lane at 10am. You can sign up here.
Phone Bank: Phone bank for Jim Wertz, on Wednesday, 5 – 7. Jim is a teacher, who believes that we need to defend democracy, protect abortion, respect workers’ rights, and fund education. In addition to incumbent Dan Laughlin’s dubious self-promotion as a champion of public education, he has also signed a letter in support of the Texas lawsuit against Pennsylvania’s 2020 election. And, Conservation Voters gave Laughlin a 0% rating in its most recent report card. Need any other reasons to support Jim? You can sign up here to phone bank for him.
Contributions: You may not have Jeffrey Yass’s money, but your contributions can go a long way toward electing good candidates to office in the state. Below are the some of the best ways that you can make those sound political investments.
US Senate | PA House Reps | PA Senators | U.S. Congress | State Row Offices |
Eugene Depasquale (Attorney General) | ||||
| Malcolm Kenyatta (Auditor General) | |||
| Erin McClelland (Treasurer) | |||
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Thanks,
Coleman
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