Rutgers-Eagleton poll: NJ wants Sherrill to tackle taxes

The basics:

• Taxes rank as top priority for 28% of New Jersey respondents
• Affordability, cost of living follow as key concerns
• Poll surveyed 1,570 New Jersey adults from late December to early January
• Sherrill begins her term with net favorable rating, poll shows

A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll out Friday examines what New Jerseyans want Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill to tackle first. And the top priority for residents is a familiar one.

The poll was conducted from Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 6, 2026, surveying 1,570 New Jersey adults. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.6%.

According to the respondents, 28% say Sherrill, who assumes office Jan. 20, should first focus on taxes, which has been the top issue for New Jerseyans for 15 years straight.

Following taxes, 19% say the governor-elect should focus first on affordability or cost of living – with pollsters noting that the theme of affordability pervaded other topics, such as housing and health care.

“While affordability was the all-encompassing buzzword of the 2025 governor’s race, taxes remain New Jerseyans’ No. 1 priority,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Taxes topped the list at the start of both Gov. [Chris] Christie’s and Gov. [Phil] Murphy’s first terms, and they’re still at the top because the problem hasn’t gone away.

“Taxes have consistently ranked as one of the most important issues for decades, and, much like her predecessors, Sherrill faces a challenge that may prove difficult – if not impossible – to solve.”

The poll found that other issues of focus lag behind taxes. Those responses included:

• 9% utility costs
• 7% housing and housing affordability
• 5% economy, including inflation and jobs
• 4% health care and associated costs
• 3% education
• 3% government issues, including inefficiency, corruption and spending
• 2% combating President Donald Trump administration’s agenda and actions
• 2% immigration
• 12% say different issues

Koning said that while the anti-Trump sentiment, which Sherrill made a central tenant of her campaign, resonated on the campaign trail, governing will require balancing any national-level actions with tangible progress on critical state-level concerns.

“New Jerseyans overwhelmingly want Sherrill to zero in on Jersey-centric, everyday issues that directly affect their lives, many of which fall under the umbrella of affordability,” said Koning.

As she gets set to kick off her first term, Sherill begins with a net favorable rating – 40% favorable, 22% unfavorable, 32% no opinion, 6% don’t know who she is. That is on par with other recent Garden State governors when they began their first term.

Rutgers notes the contrast on the favorability front versus just weeks before the election in October 2025 – when 42% held a favorable view of Sherrill, 45% unfavorable, while 11% didn’t have an opinion.

“With the heat of the election now cooled, a notable portion of New Jerseyans – and, in fact, the largest we’ve seen since tracking Sherrill’s ratings – are currently undecided about the governor,” said Koning.

Koning believes this could work in Sherrill’s favor – and possibly suggests many residents are open to what she brings to the table.

“But it also poses a challenge: She’ll need to deliver tangible results to turn that uncertainty into positive sentiment.”