Poll: 53% Think Tax Hike Needed to Balance PA Budget

A new survey indicates support is growing for Tom Corbett who became Pennsylvania's new governor a month ago.

A Quinnipiac University poll shows 65% of those questioned are optimistic about the state, up from 59% in December, a month before he took office.

A month into the Corbett Administration, half of the poll participants said they had no opinion yet of Corbett's performance. But of those who have formed an opinion, the job approval rating is 3-1 in favor.

The governor is to release his budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and has said he would not raise taxes. However, Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, says by a 53% to 33% margin those surveyed don't believe Corbett will be able to balance the budget without a tax increase. That's a slight change (55% to 31%) from December's poll.

The sampling error margin is plus or minus 2.7 %.