In January, I wrote about former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann running for Governor of Pennslyvania. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like his campaign is going well.
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann didn’t put so much as a dent in Gov. Ed Rendell’s lead among Pennsylvania voters over the past two months, despite his stepped-up campaign in the race for governor, a new poll released Wednesday shows.
Rendell led Swann 54 percent to 34 percent in the latest Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters, little change from a June poll that found the former Philadelphia mayor leading Swann 55 percent to 31 percent.
The Democratic governor also had stronger support within his own party than his challenger: 81 percent of Democrats surveyed said they favored Rendell, while 61 percent of Republicans said they were backing Swann.
Surprisingly, it appears that one of his biggest problems is name recognition:
Swann, a political newcomer, released a self-published book last week outlining his positions on various issues. But he hasn’t run any television commercials, while Rendell has aired numerous ads.
The latest survey found only a marginal increase in voter familiarity with Swann. Forty-seven percent said they had not heard enough about Swann to form an opinion, compared to 50 percent in the previous poll.
Swann should get somewhat of a lift from the upcoming visit by President Bush, but it’s a bit late in the game to be worrying about telling voters who you are.
I was up in Central Pennsylvania last weekend; Grandma needed a grandson fix. Saw a bunch of Rendell commercials. Rendell has been fairly competent, for a Democrat, and had a creditable record in Philadelphia (and I say that having sued him twice on behalf of clients). He’ll lose the rural areas, and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will have to carry him over the top.