Listen to this articleThe basics:
- 58% of NJ voters say the country is on the wrong track
- Cost of living, taxes & the economy top voter concerns
- Murphy’s approval rating split at 42% approve, 42% disapprove
- Gubernatorial hopefuls Sherrill, Ciattarelli remain largely unknown to many voters
A new Stockton University poll shows most New Jersey voters remain pessimistic about the country’s direction – and concerned about their own pocketbooks – as the Garden State’s high-stakes gubernatorial race heads into its final stretch.
The poll of 705 registered voters took place Sept. 25–30 by the Stockton Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy. The margin of error is +/- 3.7 percentage points. It found that 58% of New Jerseyans believe the country is on the wrong track, while just 33% say it is moving in the right direction.
More than two-thirds said they are dissatisfied with the current state of the economy, and 39% said their family’s financial situation is worse than a year ago.
On New Jersey’s outlook, voters are slightly less grim – with 48% saying the state is moving in the wrong direction. Meanwhile 30% said it is on the right track, down 8 points from a year ago.
“We know cost of living is a key issue for New Jersey voters so one thing that could account for that change is the rise in utility costs,” said Alyssa Maurice, assistant director of the Hughes Center and head of research.
Leader approval
As for the approval ratings of leaders at the state and federal level – Gov. Phil Murphy‘s support is evenly split, with 42% approving and 42% disapproving. President Donald Trump has a 55% disapproval rate here in New Jersey, with 38% approving.
“That’s about where his ratings are nationally according to some recent polling,” said Maurice about the president.
The survey also looked at how voters view the candidates vying to succeed the term-limited Murphy.
Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli is viewed favorably by 33% of voters and unfavorably by 38%. Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill has a 34% favorable and 35% unfavorable rating. However, roughly 1 in 4 voters said they don’t know enough about either candidate to form an opinion.
However, roughly 1 in 4 voters said they don’t know enough about either gubernatorial candidate to form an opinion.
“New Jersey is one of few states to hold its gubernatorial election in odd years that don’t align with federal races, so voters are paying less attention and turnout tends to be much lower,” Maurice said. “There’s still an upcoming debate that could get the candidates on more voters’ radar.”
The next debate takes place Oct. 8 in New Brunswick.
Voters’ top concerns:
Affordability issues dominated the first gubernatorial debate, which took place Sept. 21. This poll backs that up: 45% of voters cited either taxes (25%), cost of living (12%) or the economy in general (9%) as their top concern in this year’s election. Education and immigration followed, at 6% each.
“Property taxes are an evergreen issue in New Jersey,” Maurice added, pointing to an April Stockton poll that found increasing property tax relief was the only affordability policy with bipartisan support.
Other key takeaways from the most recent poll include:
- Artificial intelligence:
- 42% believe AI use will make life worse, up from 36% in March 2024
- 27% want the state to prioritize preventing misuse such as misinformation or deepfakes
- Political violence:
- 71% say political violence is a big problem
- Free speech:
- 57% feel free speech should be protected even if offensive or hateful
- versus 31% who prioritized protections against discrimination and harassment
- Public health:
- 43% say they are not at all confident in the federal government’s health guidance
- Republicans expressed the most trust in federal health recommendations, compared with Democrats and independents
The full poll results are available here.
