Casey still up on Santorum in PA

AP:

Sixteen months before they potentially could square off in Pennsylvania's next U.S. Senate election, Republican incumbent Rick Santorum still trails Democratic hopeful Robert P. Casey Jr., according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,639 Pennsylvania voters showed Casey, the state treasurer, leading the second-term senator 50 percent to 39 percent - reflecting a tightening from Casey's 49-35 percent lead in an April survey by the same pollster.

Santorum's job-approval rating rebounded during that period from 48 percent to 51 percent. Forty-five percent of the respondents said he deserves another term and 38 percent said he does not.

Even with his approval rating peaking over 50 as the Terri Schaivo storm dies down, less than half of the state believes he deserves another term. And this poll was commissioned before Santorum's book appeared to disparage blacks and women.