If Rick Santorum wants to get back into national politics, he’d better run for president, as a new survey conducted by Municipoll finds that a majority of Pennsylvania voters don’t like the idea of sending the former Republican Senator back to Congress.
In the poll of likely voters, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) trounced Santorum in a hypothetical 2012 Senate race, 50% to 38%. Casey captured Santorum’s Senate seat in 2006 in a election year that saw Democrats reclaim control of the upper chamber of Congress.
Casey’s lead over Santorum is slightly larger than the 48% to 41% lead PPP showed him boasting in a January poll.
Santorum, who is flirting with a presidential bid, would have a tough time winning Pennsylvanians over were he to seek a statewide office again. Only 39% of Pennsylvania voters have a favorable opinion of him, while 44% view him unfavorably, according to the poll.
In addition to topping Santorum, Casey also looked strong against other potential GOP challengers to his 2012 reelection bid. Casey led Rep. Charlie Dent 52% to 32%, and topped Rep. Jim Gerlach 48% to 34%.
The Municipoll survey was conducted February 21-23 among 670 likely voters in Pennsylvania. It has a margin of error of 3.79%.
