A few things from the Quinnipiac University polls that we didn’t report last week:
– More Pennsylvania voters thought the state should expand its Medicaid program as part of the implementation of the national health care reform law than thought it should stay as is. Almost half (49 percent) said expand the health care program for the poor, while four in nine (44 percent) said it should stay as is.
Under reform, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the expansion costs through 2016 with the percentage going down to 90 percent by 2020.
Gov. Tom Corbett has rejected expansion.
– In a head-to-head matchup, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would best former Sen. Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania if the election were held now. More than half (53 percent) backed Mrs. Clinton compared to more than a third (36 percent) who supported Mr. Santorum.
She did better against Mr. Santorum than Vice President Joe Biden (46 percent for Biden, 39 percent for Santorum).
Mrs. Clinton also did about the same (52 percent-37 percent) matched up against U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
A Biden-Paul race would be tighter (45 percent Biden, 41 percent Paul).
Mrs. Clinton’s favorability rating is better than five in 9 people (56 percent) viewing her favorably and fewer than four in 10 (37 percent) viewing her unfavorably. Mr. Biden’s favorability is 49 percent favorable, 42 percent unfavorable. Mr. Paul is at 35 percent favorable, 30 percent unfavorable.
Mr. Santorum remains in the negatives in favorabilty — 39 percent favorable, 44 percent unfavorable, the numbers he seems to have had in Pensylvania forever.
By comparison, President Barack Obama was at 51 percent favorable, 46 percent unfavorable. His job approval was 48 percent approval and disapproval.
— The job approval ratings for U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey are virtually identical. Mr. Toomey was at 46 percent approval, Mr. Casey 45 percent with both at 29 percent disapproval.
– BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
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Quinnipiac poll leftovers
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