Poll: Tom Wolf Maintains Big Lead In Race For Democratic Nomination

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) – With the campaign now in its final week, a new Franklin and Marshall Poll shows rivals have done little to close the gap on Tom Wolf in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Among those Democrats who say they plan to vote — when asked if the election were held today, for whom would they vote — Tom Wolf leads his closest rival, Allyson Schwartz, by 17 percentage points.

Wolf’s lead is the same when voters in that category who are leaning toward a candidate are factored in. Franklin and Marshall College Poll Director Terry Madonna says never say never, but that at this point, with a lead this big, a Wolf loss would be remarkable.

“Yeah, you can never quite rule out whether or not a campaign can collapse at the last-minute, but the fact is that we would have no historical modern precedent for this occurring.”

Among Democratic voters who say they are certain to vote, 37-percent favor Wolf, 20-percent Schwartz, 12-percent Rob McCord and 3-percent Katie McGinty.