Throw the bums out sentiment is expanding

Congress, it turns out, isn’t the only institution held in low esteem by voters this year.

According to a POLITICO review of publicly available polling data, numerous state legislatures are also bottoming out, showing off-the-charts disapproval ratings accompanied by stunning levels of voter cynicism.

It all adds up to a toxic election-year brew for legislators inside and outside Washington.

The freshest example comes from Pennsylvania, where a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday surveyed the attitudes of residents and reported that just 29 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they approved of the job the state legislature is doing in Harrisburg, a slippage of 13 points since last May.