NEW PA-Sen Zogby Poll Puts Pennacchio at 45% to Santorum 43%

Today, Zogby International released the newest poll on the Pennsylvania Senate Race. The Poll, sponsored by OpEdNews, and it shows some payoff for Chuck Pennacchio's grassroots effort. Despite no on-air advertising to speak of, head-to-head against Santorum, Chuck pulls down 45% support to Santorum's 43%. Casey, consistent with yesterday's Quinnipiac results, polled at 47% against Santorum at 37 points. A third candidate, having spent half a million of his own money (because he raised almost nothing else) running TV and radio ads, was the weakest performer.

This newest poll helps the Pennacchio campaign put the lie to the name recognition + money raising ability formula adopted by Charles Schumer and Harry Reid when they decided who would be Pennsylvania's Democratic challenger to Senator Santorum this year. Being the son of a very well-liked Pennsylvania governor, with the same name as his father, and having the likes of Hillary fete him at $1,000/plate dinners in Chicago, Texas, Washington and any other place that he could be sure to avoid main street Pennsylvania Democrats, earned Junior an entire two more points support over a college professor unknown until he decided to take his campaign to the people over 30 months ago.

Pennacchio has been telling everyone that the same tired formula used by Schumer and Reid have contributed to 14 consecutive full-term Senatorial losses in Pennsylvania and that the last Democrat to win such a race (in the 60s) was, surprise, a legitimate Democrat who stood for clear progressive values. This lates poll seems to bear him out.

Here's part of Rob Kall's take:

The PA Democratic senate primary race is very interesting. Poll respondents gave Bob Casey, who has spent over $3 million on his campaign, 47% to Rick Santorum's 37%. This is very consistent with the Keystone polls finding of 47%.

Alan Sandals who reportedly spent close to $500,000 on television advertising, received 43% to Santorum's 43%.

Chuck Pennacchio, who has raised a total of under $100,000, but who reports having built a grassroots base of 6,000 supporters statewide, received 45% to Santorum's 43%.

(Kall is the proprietor of OpEdNews.com, the organization which sponsired the Zogby Poll.)

The poll also puts the lie to the Casey forces' insistence that their guy is the only one who can beat Santorum. Casey, who has seen his November '05 20-point + lead in some polls dwidle to 6 to 10 points, before Santorum has virtually lifted a finger against him, is on the down-tick.

Pennacchio, coming on strong with a clear message, offering the voters a real choice between Santorum and a REAL Democrat, has made his case for support from main street Democrats tired of being on the losing end of race after race after race after, well, you get the idea.