Pennsylvania Gov Tom Corbett left out of Labor Day parade, set to lose in November
The city of Pittsburgh hosted its annual Labor Day parade today, but this year the state’s most high profile political figure has been left off the guest list. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett was not even asked to march in the parade as his poll numbers continue to slide.
photo donkey hotey
Organizers of the event said they chose to omit Corbett because he doesn’t support issues important to the Allegheny County Labor Council. According to The Washington Post, Corbett has an approval rating of 24%, trailing political newbie Tom Wolf 49-24.
The Republican governor is set to speak with members of the laborers union during a private event after the parade. Wolf was chosen lead Monday’s events and the union reps stated that “embodies the parade’s theme: fair wages for all workers.”
“He’s the labor-endorsed candidate for governor,” said Marty Marks, spokesman for the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.
A new Franklin & Marshall College poll shows Corbett trailing Wolf in every demographic by incredible margins:
- Among Republicans, he leads Wolf just 48-24.
- Among single people, he trails 51-15.
- Among moderates, he trails 59-13.
- Among non-white voters, he trails 58-2. (And that includes a relatively significant amount of Hispanics.)
- Forty percent of non-whites and 43 percent of Philadelphians are undecided. Those voters are quite simply not likely to vote for a Republican governor. For example, 86 percent of Philadelphians voted for Democrat Bob Casey in the 2012 Senate race.
- While nationwide, Republicans are clearly more enthusiastic about the 2014 election, in Pennsylvania the Democrats are four points more likely to say they are certain to vote.
The Post article describes Corbett as “basically being left for dead in his reelection campaign, kneecapped by poor approval ratings and the surprisingly strong campaign of businessman and political newcomer Tom Wolf (D).”
