Despite Compromise Failure, Pa. Voters Approve of Toomey's Gun Legislation Effort
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- A new poll indicates that US senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has scored points with Pennsylvania voters for his stance on background checks for gun purchases.
Toomey's gun compromise may have failed in the Senate but, according to Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, it was a hit with Pennsylvania voters.
"Pat Toomey gained a lot of ground, and has his highest ratings ever in the state in the wake of his stand on background checks," Malloy (right) tells KYW Newsradio. "The failed bill that never got through the Senate, never made it, helped him a good deal."
Pennsylvania voters approve of Toomey overall by a margin of 48 percent to 30 percent. And while a majority say his recent gun legislation effort improved their opinion of him, voters are much more divided on his general handling of gun control.
Most voters disapprove of the Senate's failure to act.
On terrorism, most Pennsylvanians say the Boston Marathon bombings do not make them less likely to attend a large event.
