Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert Casey, Jr., has opened a 52 - 34 percent lead over incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in the 2006 Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 50 - 39 percent Casey lead in a July 13 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University.

Democrats back Casey 81 - 8 percent, and independent voters back him 52 - 29 percent, while Republicans back the incumbent 67 - 22 percent.

Sen. Santorum has a split 43 - 41 percent job approval, his lowest ever and down from a 51 - 35 percent approval rating July 13. Pennsylvania voters split 41 - 42 percent on whether he deserves to be reelected. Santorum's politics are "about right," 40 percent say, while 29 percent say he is "too conservative," and 9 percent say he is "too liberal."

"Sen. Santorum's numbers in Pennsylvania have sunk to new lows in job approval, favorability and whether he deserves re-election. The Senator trails Bob Casey by 18 points statewide - the biggest gap yet," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Casey leads comfortably in every part of the state except central Pennsylvania where Santorum maintains an advantage. And the Republican incumbent can't expect a lot of help at this point from his friend President Bush, whose own popularity has sunk to a new low in Pennsylvania."

"About the only good news for Sen. Santorum is that the election is still more than a year away, plenty of time for the political winds to shift," Richards added.

Pennsylvania voters give Santorum a 33 - 30 percent favorability with 19 percent mixed and 18 percent who say they don't know enough to form an opinion.

Casey gets a 38 - 9 percent favorability, with 20 percent mixed and 33 percent who say they don't know enough to form an opinion. President Bush

Voters disapprove 61 - 37 percent of the job President Bush is doing, his lowest score ever and down from a 53 - 44 percent disapproval July 13.

Pennsylvania voters say 57 - 37 percent that going to war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do...

 From September 27 - October 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,530 Pennsylvania voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida and the nation as a public service and for research.

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