CBS Poll Shows Corbett Behind, But Narrowing Gap With Wolf
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Behind in the polls by 20 to 25 points, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has been on the attack against his opponent, Democrat Tom Wolf.
Corbett political ad: "When Tom Wolf was the state's top tax collector, he tried to raise taxes on almost everything."
That charge is coupled with another one about Wolf's company.
Corbett political ad: "Wolf's company moved to Delaware to avoid paying the same taxes he forced us to pay."
For a couple weeks, Wolf ignored the attack, but that has now changed.
Wolf political ad: "Have you seen Tom Corbett's negative ad with this actress? It's just not true and more of the same from Corbett. Tom Wolf's company is headquartered and files taxes right here in Pennsylvania."
But a new on-line CBS-New York Times poll finds Corbett's attack may be working -- at least a little bit.
Wolf still leads by double-digits, but it's now a 13-point lead, 52 percent to 39 percent.
Running political ads during the summer is really very unusual, but political insiders say Corbett had to do something to narrow the gap with Tom Wolf before Labor Day.
While he still has a long ways to go, this CBS poll suggests he may be making some progress.
Corbett, like many politicians, insists publicly that these polls don't count, but he was all smiles when questioned on Tuesday by KDKA political editor Jon Delano.
Gov. Corbett: "No matter what poll we're talking about, the only one that counts is November. I have said all along that when we get our message out, when it comes to November 4th, do I believe we'll get reelected? Absolutely."
Delano: "Do you think you're closing the gap with Tom Wolf?"
Gov. Corbett: "Well I think the people are starting to hear the message."
Still, the poll found Wolf ahead in all age groups.
Men split evenly, 46 percent for Wolf and 46 percent for Corbett.
But there's a huge gender gap with women backing Wolf over Corbett by 27 points, 59 percent to 32 percent.
The Wolf campaign issued this comment:
"There will be a lot of polls, with varying numbers, between now and election day. At the end of the day, Tom Corbett's failed record remains the same."
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