It’s still a long way to November, but it’s still good news Governor Josh Shapiro focusing on his next term as Governor of Pennsylvania and beyond.
The latest poll from Franklin & Marshall College shows the incumbent Democrat has a 20-point lead over the Republican candidate Stacy Garrity48-28 percent 7% opted for “another candidate” and 17% were undecided.
The good news continues for Shapiro, as half of respondents (50%) in the survey said he is doing an excellent or good job, compared to 44% who think otherwise. The +6 figure is down five points from the last F&M survey in October last year (51-40, +11), but remains above the level for the 10th consecutive year.
Taking a glass-half-full look, more Pennsylvanians believe the Commonwealth is heading in the right direction overall than did four months ago by two points (39-37%). If the glass is half empty, many respondents believe the country is heading in the wrong direction (44%).
President
Donald Trump In this study, job acceptance dropped below 40 percent, from 41 percent to 39 percent, with 61 percent saying they had a thankless or destitute job. Eight years ago, during his first term in the White House, Trump was 30-70%, and in October 2020 he was 42-58%.
Half of respondents (50%) indicated that Trump’s actions had exceeded the limits of the presidency, and almost 1 in 5 (19%) said that he had exceeded the limits of his abilities. In a poll conducted from Feb. 18 to March 1, nearly 30% said Trump stuck to those limits.
Problems and issues
- Immigration service | 28% excellent; 14% very good; 12% below average, 39% not
- Conducting foreign policy | 23% excellent; 14% very good; 15% below average, 36% not
- Methods used by ICE to enforce immigration law | 45% support; 55% are against
- Should ICE officers be able to:
- Enter the house without a warrant | 24% yes, 75% no
- Use lethal force against protesters | 21% yes, 76% no
- Use unmarked vehicles to stop people | 45% yes, 53% no
- Wear masks to hide the agent’s identity | 42% yes, 57% no
- Would you feel more or less safe and sound if ICE officers were operating in your area? 41% safer, 53% less safe and sound
- Should ICE be abolished and a modern enforcement agency created? | 47% are in favor, 53% are against
Pennsylvania
- The most essential problem facing the country | Economy 19%, government 15%, taxes 11%. The government fell from first place in October (23%), while economic problems rose from 12%.
- Personal finances a year ago | 20% better; 36% worse off; 44% about the same. The better situation increased by 4%, taking into account all the declines by about the same extent (48%)
- Personal finances for the year | 23% better; 25% worse; 39% about the same
America 250
- Have you read the Declaration of Independence? | 42% of the entire document; 52% part of the document; 5% none
- What are its core values? | Freedom and personal liberties 34%; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness 27%; Equality of all people 25%; Democracy, representative government, right to vote, fair elections 15%
- Should the 250th focus solely on the positive aspects, or on the positive and negative aspects of American history? | Only 24% positive; 73% positive and negative
Democracy in the United States
- How democracy works in the USA | 35% satisfied; 65% dissatisfied
- All citizens deserve an equal say in how government operates 80% strongly agree; 16% rather agree; 5% disagree
- Sometimes a leader may need to break the rules to get something done 23% agree; 23% probably disagree; 53% strongly disagree
- There should be no barriers to voting in our country 37% strongly agree; 16% rather agree; 45% disagree
- Does Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, properly exercise its powers? | 29% yes, 64% no
- Do the courts properly exercise their powers as a co-equal authority? | 37% yes, 55% no
Various
- U.S. House of Representatives General Ballot | Democrat 44%, Republican 37%
- Main news source | Internet 35%; Cable TV 23%; Network TV 17%; Social media 10%; Daily Newspaper 5%
- The most relied on cable network | Fox News 47%; CNN 13%; MS Now 12%; Newsmax 6%
- Creating more gun control laws | 61% favorability; 37% are against
- Abortion | Legal under all circumstances 36%; Legal in certain circumstances 51%; Illegal under all circumstances 12%
The survey results presented in this release are based on the results of interviews conducted between February 18 and March 1, 2026. The interviews were conducted at the Opinion Research Center at Franklin & Marshall College. The data in this release represents responses from 834 registered voters in Pennsylvania, including 353 Democrats, 347 Republicans and 134 independent voters.
