A new survey finds Pennsylvania voters with sour assessments of President Bush, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Gov. Ed Rendell and the overall direction of their commonwealth.

The poll, conducted Saturday through Monday by Strategic Visions, a Republican-leaning consulting firm, was based on interviews with 1,200 registered voters in the state. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

It found that 39 percent of those surveyed approved of Bush's overall job performance. A majority, 51 percent, said they disapproved of Bush's performance and 10 percent were undecided. That finding tracks with recent national polls showing Bush's approval rating at the lowest point of his presidency.

Disapproval of the president's performance, in a state which he lost narrowly to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry two years ago, extended to his handling of the economy, with 40 percent approval, and particularly to the recovery effort in response to Hurricane Katrina, at 35 percent. A narrow plurality of Pennsylvanians, 47 percent, said they approved of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, with 45 percent expressing disapproval.

Santorum and Rendell, who are each gearing up for re-election challenges next year, didn't fare much better. Only 45 percent said they approved of the Republican senator's job performance, while 46 percent said the same of the Democratic governor.

The findings in the poll's re-election trial heats were particularly ominous for Santorum. The poll found the incumbent trailing his expected challenger, with Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey leading 52 percent to 38 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

Rendell did somewhat better in match-ups with potential challengers. Against sportscaster Lynn Swann, who has been exploring a race for the GOP nomination next year, Rendell was ahead 48 percent to 43 percent, with 9 percent undecided. A hypothetical race against former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton yielded similar results -- Rendell, 47 percent, Scranton, 42 percent, and 11 percent undecided.

Another contender, state Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, was much farther back in the race with a significantly higher proportion of undecided voters -- Rendell, 50 percent, Piccola, 34 percent, and 16 percent undecided.

Swann, who had the strongest relative showing against Rendell among all voters, also prevailed against the other two GOP contenders among Republican voters in the sample. If a primary had been held last week, the poll found, Swann would have received the support of 39 percent, with 30 percent for Scranton, 10 percent for Piccola and 21 percent undecided.

In a finding consistent with the skeptical views of incumbent politicians, a strong plurality, 49 percent, said they thought the state was headed in the wrong direction, while 38 percent said it was headed in the right direction and 13 percent were undecided.

A statewide incumbent with more positive numbers in the survey was U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who was re-elected in 2004. Specter, who is in the spotlight this week presiding over the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge John Roberts, had a job approval rating of 52 percent, with 35 percent disapproval and 13 percent undecided.