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Poll shows Corbett's lead over Onorato shrinking

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, the Democratic nominee for governor, has in the last month sliced by two-thirds the lead held by his Republican opponent, state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, the Democratic nominee for governor, has in the last month sliced by two-thirds the lead held by his Republican opponent, state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Corbett still leads Onorato by 5 points, 49 percent to 44 percent, among likely voters, but has lost ground since Sept. 21, when the last Quinnipiac poll in the race showed Corbett ahead 54 percent to 39 percent.

The poll, similar to one released Thursday that showed the race for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania narrowing to a dead heat, indicates that previously apathetic Democratic voters are starting to become enthusiastic about the Nov. 2 general election.

Corbett and Onorato yesterday filed the final campaign-finance reports due before the election.

Corbett raised $6.2 million from Sept. 14 to Monday, spent $8.6 million and had $5.3 million on hand, his report shows.

Onorato raised $3.5 million in the same period, spent $4.8 million and had $2 million in the bank as of Monday.

Much of the money the two candidates detailed spending in those reports went for expensive campaign ads on television. But yesterday's poll found one in five likely voters still don't know enough about Corbett or Onorato to say if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of them.

The ads, many negative in tone, are clearly registering among many likely voters, with Corbett's favorable rating declining and unfavorable rating rising for a combined negative turn of 9 percentage points in the last month. Onorato showed a combined 6 percent drop in the same period.

Corbett continues to dominate with independent likely voters, leading Onorato 58-32 percent, holding steady in that group since the Sept. 21 poll.

Corbett, one of three politicians elected to "row offices" that are part of the state government, benefited from support of voters who are angry about that government, with a margin of 72-22 percent, the poll found.

That likely grows from Corbett's effort to link Onorato to Gov. Rendell - 54 percent of the poll respondents disapproved of Rendell's job performance while 39 percent approved.

Corbett received a job-approval rating as attorney general of 55 percent while 22 percent disapproved and 25 percent didn't know enough to offer an opinion.

The poll of 1,046 voters, conducted from Oct. 13-17, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.