July 20, 2016
Speaking to PennLive at a Donald Trump rally in Harrisburg this past April, Harry Broome expressed frustration at Trump praising Philly during the event.
He said:
"You don't stand in front of an audience in Harrisburg and say how much you love Philly. Everybody knows any Pennsylvanian who lives outside Philly hates it. Fact is, I once heard some serious suggestions about annexing Philly to New Jersey."
Well, Mr. Broome, you're partly right, at least according to a recent poll. The survey from Harper Polling, called the "Our Commonwealth Poll," asked state residents about everything from their favorite chips (Utz edged out Herr's) to whether they liked lemon in their water.
The poll, in light of the United Kingdom's recent referendum vote to leave the European Union (aka "Brexit"), also asked residents which region of Pennsylvania they would like to see leave the state.
A majority of residents said "not sure," but garnering the most votes was the Greater Philadelphia Region, an opinion that even a decent number of Philly residents supported:
Nearly a third of respondents would vote Philadelphia and the Southeast off the island (29%). Regional breaks reveal that everybody wants Philadelphia to leave, including Philadelphia (Northern Tier: 31%, Philadelphia/SE: 26%, Pittsburgh/SW: 28%, Scranton/LV: 34%, South Central: 28%).
Well, what do you say, Mayor Kenney: How about a "Philexit" vote? Mr. Broome would certainly be happy, and on the plus side, we wouldn't have to share borders with the city of Penguins and Steelers any longer.
The poll surveyed 500 adults in Pennsylvania from July 10-11 and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. You can see more results from the poll here.
