Democrat Joe Sestak leads Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, according to a poll by the Robert Morris University Polling Institute.
The poll, sponsored by Trib Total Media, shows Sestak with 34.2 percent to 28.5 percent for Toomey. The poll has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
“People are just disengaged. It’s like asking someone what they’re going to have for breakfast 100 days from now,” said Philip Harold, a Robert Morris professor of political science.
Toomey’s favorability rating was 40.3 percent, with 28 percent of those surveyed holding an unfavorable view.
In a potential Democratic primary nominating contest between Sestak and three-term Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Sestak easily led among those surveyed, 44.7 percent to 11.1.
The poll sampled opinions of 529 Pennsylvania residents statewide.