UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: Comments of Clay Richards, assistant director of Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, and Bill DeWeese added. 

Deputy House Speaker Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery County) called for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D-Greene County) to step down Monday.

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, he has the public's overwhelming support.

The poll, released Tuesday, shows 51 percent of voters think DeWeese should resign from his leadership post after the "Bonusgate" charges were announced in early July. Just 11 percent  think he should stay, the poll reported.

Twelve members of the House Democratic Caucus were charged with misusing tax dollars on campaign work in what has become one of the state's biggest scandals in recent history. DeWeese was not charged, but he has been criticized nonetheless for being the leader of a caucus now embroiled in controversy.

The poll's findings showed disdain for DeWeese in both parties and in all of the state's regions, including southwest Pennsylvania. About 61 percent of voters there said they thought DeWeese should step down -- only Allegheny County had a higher percentage.

"There are no areas where he has any support," said Clay Richards, assistant director of Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

In a statement released following the poll, DeWeese said it showed voters aren't well educated about his success as majority leader.  He touted the increase in basic education spending and array of rule changes made the last year and a half.

"We now will focus on informing Pennsylvanians about our aggressive agenda for this fall that includes health care, further implementation of our energy agenda and our continued work on reform," DeWeese said.

Although the HDC was the only caucus implicated in the first-phase of Bonusgate indictments, approval ratings for the entire legislature are in the tank, the poll reported.

Fifty-one percent of voters think the legislature is doing a poor job, compared to 32 percent who think it's doing well. The vast majority of voters, 73 percent, blame both parties for stategovernment's corruption, the poll said. It also reported that the public is not confident the legislature can end corruption on its own, with 74 percent of voters saying they are "not too confident" or "not confident at all."

Seventy-six percent of those polled said Gov. Ed Rendell should call a special legislative session to battle corruption.

Speaking of the governor, his approval ratings remain mostly unchanged despite Bonusgate. He retains a 54 percent approval rating, compared to 37 percent disapproval.

Richards said the governor's rating is remarkable considering most Pennsylvanians disapprove of how he handles the budget and oppose his plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

"Teflon Ed," Richards said.

Other findings of note:

• His numbers remain solid, but voters disapprove of the way Rendell handles the budget by a 47-40 percent margin.
• The legislature is in worse shape, according to the public, which disapproves of the way it handles the budget by a 57-26 percent margin.
• Sixty percent of voters oppose a plan to lease the Turnpike to Spanish-company Abertis Infraestructuras.
• Voters also oppose proposed tolls on Interstate 80 by a 63-29 percent margin.