Welcome to the PennLive/Bravo Group Morning Scrapple, our snapshot of political opinion from the nation’s most important battleground state!
As we get (hopefully) closer to May Flowers, let’s check in on which of our pols have seen April Showers. Below you’ll find data on President Trump’s approval rating, the SAVE Act and whether PA voters think Gov. Shapiro should opt into a new federal tax credit program.
Order Up.
April approvals
Generally speaking, is the United States heading in the right or wrong direction?
U.S. wrong track: 59% (March) → 57% (April)
U.S. right track: 32% (March) → 37% (April)
Generally speaking, is Pennsylvania heading in the right or wrong direction?
PA wrong track: 41% (March) → 36% (April)
PA right track: 37% (March) → 42% (April)
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as President?
Donald Trump, President: 40% (March) → 39% (April) approve
Do you approve or disapprove of the job John Fetterman/Dave McCormick is doing in the US Senate?
Dave McCormick, U.S. Senator: 38% (March) → 37% (April) approve
John Fetterman, U.S. Senator: 45% (March) → 45% (April) approve
If the election for Pennsylvania Governor were held today, who would you vote for?
Vote for Shapiro: 59% (March) → 58% (April)
Issues
Respondents were asked to choose the top three issues most important to them:
SAVE act
Congress is considering the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), a bill that would change how people register to vote in FEDERAL elections.
For the next few questions, please indicate whether you support, oppose, or are unsure about these SAVE Act provisions.
Provision 1: The SAVE Act requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Proving citizenship requires submitting, in person or by mail, a physical copy of one of the following documents: a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), a certificate of naturalization, or a certificate of citizenship.
Provision 2: The SAVE Act requires states to check their voter rolls against federal databases — such as Social Security and immigration records — to find any registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens.
Provision 3: If a registered voter is found to be a noncitizen through those database checks, the SAVE Act requires states to remove that person from the voter rolls.
Provision 4: The SAVE Act increases criminal penalties for noncitizens who register to vote or vote in a federal election.
Provision 5: The SAVE Act establishes a single set of federal standards for verifying voter eligibility that all states must follow, rather than allowing each state to set its own rules.
Mail-in ballots
In Pennsylvania, registered voters can request either a no-excuse mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot. How confident are you that mail-in ballots are counted accurately in PA elections?
Education tax credits
A new federal law gives taxpayers a $1,700 federal income tax credit for donating to a designated, charitable scholarship-granting organization. The donations would provide tuition assistance for 9 in 10 Pennsylvania families whose children attend K-12 nonpublic schools, based on their income. Governor Josh Shapiro must decide to opt into this program by the end of 2026.
Which option is closer to your view?
Tariffs
How are tariffs placed on products you regularly purchase affecting you?
2026 midterm elections
How motivated are you to vote, if at all, in the 2026 midterm elections for governor, U.S. House, state, and local officials?
We survey Pennsylvania-registered voters through digital advertising, randomized text-message outreach, and email recontact with prior opt-in survey participants. This multichannel recruitment ensures a refreshed and representative respondent pool.
This digital survey of 702 likely Pennsylvania voters was conducted from April 9-14, 2026. Results were weighted by age, gender, and political party to reflect Pennsylvania’s electorate, yielding a 95% credibility interval of ±4.4 percentage points. You can read more about our methodology here.
If you have a question, suggestion, or would like to learn more about our research offering, please feel free to email us at morningscrapple@thebravogroup.com
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