The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll in Pennsylvania shows Democratic Governor Ed Rendell leading Republican Lynn Swann, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, 44% to 41%.

That's an echo of our February report, except that each candidate has lost a couple points since then. In February, 7% were undecided, 4% would have chosen another candidate. Undecideds are still at 7%, but 8% would now choose another candidate if the election were held today.

Swann is viewed favorably by 55% of voters, unfavorably by 34% (a jump from 18% as more people make up their mind about him). Rendell is viewed favorably by 52%, unfavorably by 44%.

Swann leads by 10 among those who name the Pittsburgh Steelers their favorite football team while Governor Rendell holds a 2-to-1 margin among Eagles fans. (We noted in January that the governor is a fan of the Eagles.)

The bad news for Rendell is that, in the wake of a Super Bowl season, there's a lot more Steelers' fans in the state. In fact, a majority of 51% name the Steelers as their favorite team while only 19% say the Eagles. Twenty percent (20%) say some other, out-of-state- team, is their favorite.

Fifty percent (50%) say elections are fair to voters. Fifty-three percent (53%) of Pennsylvania voters say journalists have more impact on elections that campaign contributors do; 34% say it's the other way around.

The rolling average of our last three Pennsylvania election polls shows Rendell at 44% and Swann at 43%. This confirms the very close nature of the race.

The Pennsylvania Senate race is not nearly as competitive, but the Democrat, Bob Casey, Jr, has lost a bit of his support over the past month.

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