Poll shows Casey leads Santorum despite third candidate; race tightens

Associated Press,  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review    
August 15, 2006  Poll shows Casey leads Santorum despite third candidate; race tightens    

The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows that even in a three-way contest, Senate challenger Bob Casey (D-PA) still leads Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). Casey scored 45% compared with Santorum's 39% and Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli's 5%. Without Romanelli, Casey led Santorum 47-40% with 13% undecided. In June, Casey led Santorum by 18 points, 52-34%. The Casey campaign said it expected the race to tighten, while Santorum spokeswoman Virginia Davis asserted that the dramatic shift in the polls will come when the candidates debate. Romanelli, on the other hand, was pleased with the results saying that normally Green Party candidates only poll at 2% or less. Democrats have challenged Romanelli's petition signatures for the ballot in court.

Quinnipiac interviewed 1,384 Pennsylvania registered voters from Aug. 8 through Monday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%.

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Relevant Statements

"The voters are looking at the totality of the race. They're really paying attention for the first time."
Clay Richards
Assistant director of Quinnipiac University's polling institute on the poll results

"It's hard to ignore that some of these polls are showing a trend in favor of Santorum... [the campaign doesn't expect to see ] a real dramatic shift until voters have the opportunity to see the candidates debate."
Virginia Davis
Santorum spokeswoman on the poll results

"Obviously there was a reason Rick Santorum and his supporters bankrolled the petition drive, why his staff was so eager to collect petitions and encourage Romanelli's candidacy."
Larry Smar
Casey's campaign spokesman on poll results showing Casey's narrowing lead in a three-way match up