A poll conducted by the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics (MCAP) shows that, although improving, Pennsylvanians have only slowly felt any positive change in the economy.

The polling, conducted by students from the political science department as well as volunteers, work studies and those currently enrolled in political science courses, took place from Sept. 17 until Oct. 3 and surveyed the results from a randomly selected sample of 579 citizens of Pennsylvania.

The pollers were trained and helped by MCAP director Joseph Morris and associate director Rolfe Peterson.
Mike Murphy photo: Dr. Peterson demonstrated the polling process in the MCAP room for students enrolled in an American Government course.
Other topics assessed by the poll were the stance Pennsylvanians have on the subject of fracking in the Marcellus Shale and the election of a new governor in 2014.

According to the poll, 48 percent of Pennsylvanians feel the economy is doing “not so good” this year, an increase from the poll conducted in 2011, where 57 percent rated it as “poor.”

Peterson believes that it reflects the results on a more personal level than most economic evaluations do.

“Although polls on the national level show an improvement in the economy, we still hear of people close to us that are having a hard time getting by,” said Peterson. “I think the results reflect these sociotropic issues more than the big picture.”

The poll also shows that, were the gubernatioral elections to be held today, 40 percent of Pennsylvanians would vote for any Democratic candidate over current Republican Governor Tom Corbett.

On the subject of hydraulic fracturing, the poll found out that 49 percent of citizens approve of it, but two-thirds of the sample also believes that there should be more regulations in place.

In order to make sure the results were as accurate as possible, the questions were screened to make sure those surveyed were aware of the subject before asking questions about it.