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Gerlach says internal poll shows him trailing Corbett, but with a profile to win

State Attorney General Tom Corbett holds a significant lead over Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) in next year’s gubernatorial primary, but Gerlach’s political profile is one that voters may ultimately prefer when they go to the polls, according to an internal poll memo released Thursday by Gerlach’s campaign.

Campaigns rarely release internal polling data that doesn’t show them winning outright, but Gerlach is clearly looking to build the perception that his experience as a legislator is preferable to his two primary opponents. Corbett and former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan have backgrounds in law enforcement, not day-to-day governance.

The poll memo from Wilson Research Strategies offered few specifics about how questions were asked, making its findings difficult to fully assess. In a survey of 600 likely GOP primary voters conducted in June, the poll memo said, Corbett “not unexpectedly” led the field with 39 percent of the vote, compared 11 percent for Gerlach and 7 percent for Meehan.

But as it has done in recent weeks, the Gerlach campaign sought to focus on Corbett’s inability to break the 50 percent barrier even after winning two statewide elections. And in asking respondents questions about what kind of candidate they would prefer, the poll memo said, voters opted for a lawmaker over a prosectuor. Though the questions asked were not provided, the poll memo said that “based on their biographies alone,” 53 percent of respondents chose Gerlach, 26 percent backed Corbett and 13 percent supported Meehan.

The memo also said Gerlach leads in the vote-rich Philadelphia area with 25 percent of the vote, compared to 20 percent for Corbett and 14 percent for Meehan.

Gerlach only recently made his candidacy official, and since then has been seeking to build his name recognition outside of southeast Pennsylvania.

Click here to see the full poll memo.

July 30, 2009 at 10:32 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Tom Corbett

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