--- title: Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil PPP Poll description: Fifty percent of Pennsylvanians think Punxsutawney Phil would do better in Congress than current representatives canonical: https://time.com/3690454/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-congress-ppp-poll/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-30T21:54:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:06.681Z og:title: 50% of Pennsylvanians Would Rather Be Represented by a Groundhog in Congress og:description: Fifty percent of Pennsylvanians think Punxsutawney Phil would do better in Congress than current representatives og:url: https://time.com/3690454/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-congress-ppp-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 50% of Pennsylvanians Would Rather Be Represented by a Groundhog in Congress twitter:description: Fifty percent of Pennsylvanians think Punxsutawney Phil would do better in Congress than current representatives twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 50% of Pennsylvanians Would Rather Be Represented by a Groundhog in Congress > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=926d1d3b-90da-47c3-a5a5-4e5154e9b3a4&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 30, 2015 9:54 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 30, 2015 9:54 PM UTC  Ready to lead? Jeff Swensen—Getty Images Just in time for Groundhog Day on Feb. 2, Public Policy Polling (PPP) revealed 50% of Pennsylvanians think the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil “would do a better job than most current members of Congress.” Twenty-nine percent said he would not, and 21% were “not sure.” Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, [said in a statement](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ppp%5Frelease%5Fpa%5F129.pdf), “Americans have so little faith in Congress these days they’d rather be represented by a groundhog.” The data suggests the rodent should get a new job, considering only 8% thought the animal seeing his shadow was a reliable indicator of how long winter would last. The pollsters surveyed 1,042 registered voters in Pennsylvania between Jan.15 and 18\. The margin of error for this poll is ± 3%. [Past entertaining PPP polls](http://swampland.time.com/2013/03/01/republicans-prefer-pancakes-whats-the-point-of-goofy-polls/) have showed Americans favor Ronald McDonald for president over Burger King, and that Republicans prefer olives as a pizza topping twice as much as Democrats. _Read Next:_ [_What’s the Point of Goofy Polls?_](http://swampland.time.com/2013/03/01/republicans-prefer-pancakes-whats-the-point-of-goofy-polls/) ### Why Republicans Run in Cowboy Boots  Like a lot of Republican ideas, the trend toward wearing cowboy boots began with Ronald Reagan. Popperfoto/Getty Images  President George W. Bush, showing off boots with the presidential seal here at his inauguration, furthered the trend. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, shown here on the stump in Iowa, favored cowboy boots. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  They're also a favored fashion statement for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. NBC News/Getty Images  Even former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was known to sport a pair. Jose Luis Magana—AP  It's not just men. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been known to put on a pair of cowboy boots. Jeff J. Newman—ZUMA Press/Corbis  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also goes for the look. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Like his predecessor, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry long favored cowboy boots, but he's no longer able to wear them. Tom Worner—AP  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is also a fan. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul also favors boots with blue jeans, a classic Western look. Charles Ommanney—Getty Images  These days, if you're running for president as a Republican, chance are good that you are wearing cowboy boots. Richard Shiro—AP  Even Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has been known to wear them. J.D. 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