Pat Toomey is considered one of the more vulnerable senators up for reelection in 2016, but one new poll finds the Pennsylvania Republican leading possible Democratic challengers. A new survey from Harper Polling, a GOP firm, finds Toomey ahead by double-digits against three Democrats considering a bid against him. In addition, a total of 54 percent of likely voters say they have a favorable or somewhat favorable view of the first-term senator.
Toomey’s 2010 opponent, Joe Sestak, isn’t faring any better against his Republican rival this time around, with 53 percent supporting Toomey and 32 percent supporting Sestak while 15 percent remain undecided. Five years ago, Toomey bested Sestak by just two percentage points, one of the closest Senate races that year. Sestak, a former Philadelphia-area congressman, doesn’t seem to have made much of an impression on Pennsylvania voters statewide, with 35 percent saying they don’t have an opinion of him. Among those who do know him, the opinions are split, with 23 percent saying they have a favorable or somewhat favorable view and 22 percent saying they have an unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable view.
Against two other possible Democratic opponents, Toomey does about as well. Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski earns 30 percent support against Toomey’s 54 percent, while Montgomery County commissioner Josh Shapiro earns 27 percent to Toomey’s 55 percent. Both Pawlowski and Shapiro are virtually unknown throughout the state.
Toomey’s relatively good standing in Pennsylvania, a solidly Democratic state on the presidential level, suggests the Republican and former Club for Growth president is benefitting from a more moderate tack on some issues like gun control. But Toomey has also cultivated a tough-on-crime record, from spearheading the effort to block a Justice Department nomination of Debo Adegbile, who defended convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, to a recent speech defending the police in the wake of riots in Baltimore.
