Democrats running for statewide office in Pennsylvania in 2018 have reason to be optimistic, according to a new poll released Thursday.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is 15 percentage points ahead of President Trump-endorsed Republican Lou Barletta, amassing 53 percent support among registered voters, an NBC News/Marist survey found.
Similarly, sitting Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf enjoys a 14 percentage point advantage on Republican Scott Wagner, with 54 percent of registered voters backing him.
The state, which Trump won in 2016 by only 44,292 votes, appears to be trending blue as November’s midterm elections fast approach.
Almost half of Pennsylvania’s registered voters want Democrats to win back control of Congress, while two-fifths would prefer that Republicans remain in power. Democrats also trump Republicans in the poll’s generic congressional ballot, 51 percent to 39 percent.
NBC News/Marist surveyed 825 adults, 713 of whom are registered voters, over the phone from Aug. 12-16. The findings reported have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
