December 9, 2011 - Pennsylvania Voters Barely Support Paterno Firing, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Football Has Too Much Clout At Penn State, Voters Say Word format By a slim 52 - 43 percent majority, Pennsylvania voters support the decision to fire Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. By a much larger 74 - 13 percent margin, voters support the firing of University President Graham Spanier. There is no gender gap in voter reaction to either firing, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Voters with a college degree support the Paterno firing 63 - 32 percent while voters without a degree are split 47 - 47 percent. White Protestants oppose the firing 49 - 44 percent while white Catholics support it 52 - 45 percent. There are no such divisions over the firing of President Spanier. Football has too much influence at Penn State, 65 percent of Pennsylvania voters say. Another 4 percent say "not enough influence" and 25 percent say "about the right amount of influence." Feelings are about the same among all groups. But voters say 67 - 18 percent that it's a "bad idea" for Penn State to decline a bowl bid. Again there is agreement among all groups. "University presidents come and go, but Joe Paterno... "Pennsylvania voters have more love for the legendary football coach than for Graham Spanier, but they agree that Joe must go," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "By a large majority, Pennsylvanians feel there is too much emphasis on the football program at Penn State. Clearly the scandal has shaken the university to its foundations and may forever reshape its football program despite the clear indication from our polling that Pennsylvanians don't want the players or team penalized." "A large majority feel that Penn State should play in a bowl game, despite a call for a one year 'death penalty' for the vaunted program," Malloy added. Pennsylvania voters split 38 - 36 percent in their approval of the way Gov. Tom Corbett handled the child sex abuse case involving former coach Jerry Sandusky. Voters say 48 - 42 percent that the state should not financially compensate the alleged victims if Sandusky is found guilty. Women are divided 44 - 46 percent on whether to pay the victims while men oppose payment 49 - 40 percent. Voters making less than $30,000 per year support payments 51 - 38 percent, but opposition to payments is 50 - 42 percent among voters making $30,000 to $50,000, 54 - 37 percent among voters making $50,000 to $100,000 and 51 - 41 percent among voters making more than $100,000. Pennsylvania voters give Gov. Corbett an overall job approval rating of 47 - 34 percent, compared to 46 - 31 percent November 10. Approval is 65 - 20 percent among Republicans and 45 - 35 percent among independent voters, while Democrats disapprove 43 - 36 percent. "The Penn State scandal is the biggest story in the Keystone State, but it apparently has not affected how voters view their first-year governor," Malloy said. From November 28 - December 5, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,453 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 47% 65% 36% 45% 51% 44% 49% 38% Disapprove 34 20 43 35 32 36 33 36 DK/NA 19 15 20 20 17 20 18 26 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 46% 51% 54% 53% 53% 51% 44% 50% 49% Disapprove 40 30 29 31 28 32 38 33 30 DK/NA 14 19 18 16 19 16 19 17 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 44% 49% 44% 43% 47% 56% 50% Disapprove 41 31 33 40 36 34 31 DK/NA 15 20 23 17 17 10 19 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as Governor? Dec 08 Nov 10 Sep 29 Aug 03 Jun 14 Apr 27 Feb 16 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 Approve 47 46 50 44 39 39 39 Disapprove 34 31 32 36 38 37 11 DK/NA 19 23 18 20 23 24 50 35a. How interested are you in following college football; very interested, somewhat interested or not interested at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very interested 19% 21% 19% 20% 27% 12% 20% 19% Smwht interested 34 40 34 30 38 31 34 40 Not at all 46 39 47 50 35 58 46 42 DK/NA - - - - - - - - WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Very interested 22% 19% 22% 22% 21% 22% 17% 21% 23% Smwht interested 38 32 32 38 33 36 34 33 36 Not at all 40 49 45 40 46 43 49 46 42 DK/NA - - - - - - - - - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Very interested 21% 19% 17% 21% 18% 22% 22% Smwht interested 36 33 30 34 37 38 33 Not at all 42 48 53 44 44 39 45 DK/NA - - - - - - - 35b. Is your opinion of Joe Paterno favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 44% 54% 38% 39% 53% 35% 47% 32% Unfavorable 36 29 41 40 29 42 36 32 Hvn't hrd enough 17 14 18 16 14 19 14 35 REFUSED 4 3 2 5 4 3 3 1 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 43% 49% 57% 44% 54% 49% 44% 43% 46% Unfavorable 44 32 28 39 28 35 35 39 34 Hvn't hrd enough 10 16 12 14 15 13 18 14 17 REFUSED 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Favorable 41% 45% 36% 49% 48% 46% 47% Unfavorable 44 33 34 33 37 46 32 Hvn't hrd enough 12 19 26 15 11 8 15 REFUSED 3 4 3 3 4 - 6 35c. How closely have you been following news about the child sex abuse case involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky? Would you say you have been following it very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very closely 43% 46% 44% 40% 44% 42% 45% 35% Smwht closely 42 41 43 41 40 43 40 42 Not too closely 12 11 8 14 12 11 12 14 Not at all 3 2 4 4 3 4 2 9 DK/NA - - - 1 1 - - - WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Very closely 49% 44% 48% 48% 42% 49% 35% 45% 53% Smwht closely 38 41 37 41 42 39 45 41 36 Not too closely 11 13 12 8 14 10 15 10 9 Not at all 2 3 2 3 2 3 4 4 1 DK/NA - - - - - - - 1 - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Very closely 46% 41% 38% 44% 46% 44% 44% Smwht closely 40 42 40 47 40 43 39 Not too closely 11 12 15 7 12 11 12 Not at all 2 4 6 2 1 3 4 DK/NA - 1 1 - 1 - 2 35d. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Governor Tom Corbett has handled the child sex abuse case involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 38% 47% 32% 37% 43% 33% 39% 33% Disapprove 36 30 43 37 33 39 35 42 DK/NA 26 24 25 26 24 29 26 25 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 40% 38% 42% 41% 41% 41% 40% 36% 37% Disapprove 34 36 34 36 34 35 33 40 38 DK/NA 26 26 24 24 25 24 27 24 25 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 38% 38% 36% 40% 35% 43% 39% Disapprove 35 36 36 41 38 34 33 DK/NA 27 26 28 18 27 24 28 35e. If Jerry Sandusky is found guilty, do you think the state should financially compensate the alleged victims, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 42% 35% 54% 36% 40% 44% 40% 56% No 48 54 37 53 49 46 49 38 DK/NA 10 11 9 11 12 9 11 5 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Yes 41% 40% 32% 44% 30% 41% 46% 40% 40% No 49 49 55 47 60 48 47 51 44 DK/NA 10 11 12 9 10 10 7 9 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Yes 41% 43% 51% 42% 37% 41% 36% No 50 47 38 50 54 51 51 DK/NA 9 11 11 8 9 8 13 35f. Has the child sex abuse case involving Jerry Sandusky made you think more favorably of Penn State, less favorably of Penn State, or hasn't it affected your opinion of Penn State? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk More favorably 1% 2% 2% - 1% 1% 1% 3% Less favorably 33 30 38 33 38 29 33 33 Hasn't affected it 63 67 58 64 59 67 64 61 DK/NA 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ More favorably 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 2% Less favorably 39 30 29 32 28 31 35 33 30 Hasn't affected it 59 67 68 66 69 67 63 63 66 DK/NA 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds More favorably 1% 1% 3% 1% 1% - 1% Less favorably 40 30 32 28 37 38 30 Hasn't affected it 58 65 63 69 62 61 65 DK/NA 1 3 3 1 - 1 4 35g. Do you agree or disagree with the decision by Penn State's Board of Trustees to fire football coach Joe Paterno? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Agree 52% 46% 53% 55% 52% 51% 50% 57% Disagree 43 50 42 37 43 43 44 38 DK/NA 6 5 5 8 5 6 6 4 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Agree 64% 44% 44% 52% 48% 47% 49% 58% 47% Disagree 31 50 49 45 45 48 46 36 47 DK/NA 5 6 7 4 7 4 5 6 6 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Agree 63% 47% 46% 47% 53% 65% 44% Disagree 32 47 47 50 41 33 48 DK/NA 4 6 7 2 6 2 8 35h. Do you agree or disagree with the decision by Penn State's Board of Trustees to fire school President Graham Spanier? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Agree 74% 74% 76% 69% 77% 71% 75% 67% Disagree 13 13 14 13 12 14 14 13 DK/NA 13 13 10 17 10 16 11 20 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Agree 81% 72% 72% 78% 67% 78% 74% 75% 72% Disagree 10 15 13 13 15 12 13 13 14 DK/NA 9 13 15 9 18 9 13 11 14 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Agree 80% 71% 65% 75% 76% 86% 73% Disagree 10 14 18 16 12 8 12 DK/NA 10 14 18 9 12 6 15 35i. Do you think the football program has too much influence at Penn State, not enough or about the right amount of influence at Penn State? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Too much influence 65% 61% 70% 63% 65% 64% 66% 61% Not enough influence 4 3 6 2 3 4 2 16 About the right amt 25 32 19 28 26 25 27 13 DK/NA 6 5 6 7 5 8 5 10 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Too much influence 71% 64% 64% 62% 62% 64% 66% 64% 65% Not enough influence 1 3 3 2 4 1 4 5 3 About the right amt 24 29 29 31 29 29 23 26 28 DK/NA 4 5 4 5 5 5 7 5 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Too much influence 71% 62% 58% 64% 68% 74% 61% Not enough influence 1 5 7 4 2 - 4 About the right amt 23 26 28 30 24 22 27 DK/NA 5 7 8 3 6 4 7 35j. Some have suggested that Penn State should announce that it will not accept a bowl bid if one is offered at the end of this season. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good idea 18% 14% 21% 19% 18% 19% 18% 19% Bad idea 67 74 63 65 73 62 68 60 DK/NA 15 11 16 17 10 19 14 22 WHITE.................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvan AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Good idea 21% 17% 16% 18% 18% 17% 20% 16% 17% Bad idea 69 67 70 68 69 70 63 71 71 DK/NA 10 15 14 15 13 14 17 13 12 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Good idea 20% 17% 18% 17% 19% 19% 18% Bad idea 70 66 62 69 69 73 68 DK/NA 10 16 19 14 12 8 14 Demographic Summary
