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List of all releases for this calendar year

PublicMind research for years 2001-2016

Embargo until 5 am on Tuesday, March 28                               

Contact: Krista Jenkins 973.443.8390; kjenkins@fdu.edu

Guadagno and Murphy Ahead with Majority Still Undecided;

Christie And State Government Get a Big Thumbs Down

Fairleigh Dickinson University, March 28, 2017 – There’s not a lot of love for state government these days, as the most recent survey of registered voters from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds a majority expressing displeasure for both the governor and the state government in Trenton. And, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans remain undecided in whom they like for the upcoming gubernatorial primary.

Seventy-two percent of voters say they disapprove of the governor’s leadership with 20 percent who approve. These numbers are statistically unchanged from January; the last time the same question was asked about the governor’s job performance. Even a minority of Republicans are happy with the governor. Forty percent approve of the job he’s been doing of late, with 52 percent who disapprove.

“As the clock continues to advance toward the end of his administration, Governor Christie remains mired in a world of public displeasure,” said Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of the FDU poll. “His twenty percent approval rating puts him in the company of relatively few who left office while being held in such low public regard. And the fact that so few believe the state is headed in the right direction under his leadership underscores the frustration that many feel.”

Barely a quarter (24%) believe the state is on a good path, with 67 percent who think otherwise. As with the governor’s job approval numbers, right direction/wrong track numbers remain upside down in largely the same territory they have been in recent polls.

As for who is likely to replace Governor Christie in November, the increasingly crowded field on both sides remains open. Republican Kim Guadagno and Democrat Phil Murphy have a sizable lead over their opponents, but the dominant response remains “don’t know.”

On the Democratic side, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy garners 23 percent support, with his closest competitors significantly behind. Murphy is up six percentage points from the last time the question was asked (17%) in January. Although Murphy is doing well with those who have an opinion, over half (53%) remain uncertain whom among the long list of candidates they will support in June.

Two-term Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno is the frontrunner among Republicans with 24 percent support. This is six percentage points better than what the FDU poll found in January (18%). As with Murphy, Guadagno’s competitors are running significantly behind, and the dominant response among self-identified Republicans is “don’t know” (54%).

“With a little more than two months until the June 6 primary, Guadagno and Murphy look good among those with an opinion, but there’s still lots of room for others to capture the attention of voters who remain unimpressed with what they’ve seen so far,” said Jenkins.

Regardless of who wins in November, the poll finds that state government in general fares poorly in the eyes of the public. Low regard for elected officials extends well beyond Governor Christie. Voters were asked a number of questions about their feelings toward state government, and across all measures, voter discontent runs broad and deep.[1]

For example, when asked if they find themselves feeling content, frustrated, or angry with the state government, 18 percent are content, with around the same number saying they’re angry (21%) and a majority feeling frustrated (58%). Frustration prevails across all of the groups considered, with some differences apparent by party and age. For example, Republicans (23%) are the most content among partisans with Democrats the most angry (23%). And, a quarter of Millennials (24%) feel content when they think of state government.

The pessimism continues when it comes to public perceptions of state run programs, as only 15 percent evaluate the job the state government does as “excellent” or “good,” with 83 percent who regard the state’s performance as “only fair” or “poor.”

There is also not a deep reservoir of trust between elected officials in Trenton and their constituents. Unconditional trust is more of a dream than a reality, as only one percent say they always trust state officials to do what’s right. That number increases to 11 percent when the standard of trust is loosened a bit to include those who trust government “most” of the time. Instead, far more voters say they never believe Trenton legislators are doing the right thing. Twenty-three percent say they never trust state officials to do what’s right, with another 65 percent whose trust can be relied upon some of the time.

And finally, when asked whether they regard state government as a friend or enemy, voters are somewhere in the middle. On a ten-point scale, with one meaning an enemy and ten indicating a friend, the average response was a six.

“Although it’s easy to scapegoat problems with state government by pointing the finger at the guy at the top, it’s clear that Governor Christie isn’t the sole source of voter discontent. There’s a lot of work to do by legislators and the next governor to reconnect the public to local government,” said Jenkins.  

 

Methodology, questions, and tables on the web at: http://publicmind.fdu.edu

Radio actualities at 201.692.2846                 For more information, please call 201.692.7032

Methodology - The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone March 22-26, 2017 among a random sample of 758 registered voters in New Jersey. Results have a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.9 percentage points, including the design effect.

Survey results are also subject to non-sampling error. This kind of error, which cannot be measured, arises from a number of factors including, but not limited to, non-response (eligible individuals refusing to be interviewed), question wording, the order in which questions are asked, and variations among interviewers.

PublicMind interviews are conducted by Opinion America of Cedar Knolls, NJ, with professionally trained interviewers using a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system. Random selection >is achieved by computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a landline phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected.

The total combined sample is mathematically weighted to match known demographics of age, sex, race, and education. 418 interviews were conducted on landlines and 340 were conducted on cellular telephones.

The sample was purchased from Marketing Systems Group and the research was funded by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

PublicMind recently received an “A” rating from statistician Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog. The ratings measure both accuracy and bias for all major polling services in the United States, providing an update to similar research the poll watchers conducted in 2014. PublicMind’s “A” rating puts it in the top 14 of the more than 380 polling institutes reviewed and graded from A+ through F. PublicMind was found to have a 94 percent accuracy rate for predicting election results, and is one of only two A-rated polling institutes with zero bias to their rankings.

Tables

And turning to New Jersey, do you approve or disapprove of the job Chris Christie is doing as governor? [Randomize approve/disapprove]

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Approve

20%

8

22

40

21

19

20

19

21

19

16

20

23

Disapprove

72%

84

70

52

70

73

71

73

71

72

69

75

71

Neither/

Neutral (vol)

4%

4

4

3

4

3

3

5

4

4

7

2

2

DK/Both (vol)

4%

3

2

4

3

4

4

2

3

4

8

2

2

Refused (vol)

1%

1

3

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

 

 

In your opinion, do you think things in New Jersey are moving in the right direction or are they on the wrong track? [Randomize right

direction/wrong track]

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Right direction

24%

20

22

32

26

22

22

28

28

22

31

23

19

Wrong track

67%

71

68

61

67

68

70

62

66

68

55

72

74

DK (vol)

8%

8

9

7

6

10

7

10

5

10

13

5

6

Refused (vol)

1%

0

0

1

1

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

 

 

Some people say they are basically content with the state government, others say they are frustrated, and others say they are angry. Which

of these best describes how you feel?

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Content

18%

13

19

23

17

18

18

18

19

17

24

15

15

Frustrated

58%

60

61

56

58

59

58

59

58

59

55

63

55

Angry

21%

23

18

17

19

22

21

20

21

20

15

20

28

DK (vol)

3%

3

1

3

4

1

2

3

2

3

6

1

1

Refused (vol)

1%

1

0

1

1

0

1

0

0

1

1

1

0

 

 

All in all, how good a job does the state government do in running its programs? An excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Excellent

1%

0

2

0

1

0

0

1

1

0

1

1

0

Good

14%

12

12

17

12

15

15

11

14

14

15

13

12

Only fair

55%

57

52

54

52

58

56

53

55

55

55

56

55

Poor

28%

28

33

25

32

25

26

33

28

29

27

28

30

DK (vol)

2%

2

1

2

3

1

2

2

2

2

2

3

3

Refused (vol)

0

0

0

1

1

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Trenton to do what is right? Just about always, most of the time, some of the time, or do you believe it can’t be trusted to do what’s right ever?

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Always

1%

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

0

1

2

1

0

Most

10%

10

11

10

10

10

11

7

10

10

10

10

9

Some

65%

70

60

61

61

69

65

69

65

65

69

63

64

No trust

23%

18

28

27

26

19

22

22

25

22

18

24

25

DK (vol)

1%

1

0

1

1

1

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

Refused (vol)

0

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

 

 

Some people think of the state government as a friend or protector. Others see it as bother, or even an enemy. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means you think the state government is your enemy, and 10 means you think the state government is your friend, where on this scale would you place yourself?

 

 

PID

Gender

Race

Education

Age

 

All

Dem

Ind

Repub

Male

Female

White

Non-white

HS/Some college

College+

18-34

35-59

60+

Mean

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

5

6

6

5

6

6

 

 

I know it’s early, but if the election for the Democratic/Republican nominee for governor was held today, which of the following would you

be the most likely to support? [Rotate order of candidates]

 

Democratic [N = 386; MoE +/- 5]

 

Republican [N = 216; MoE +/- 6.7]

Bill Brennan

2%

Jack Ciattarelli

5%

Monica Brinson

1%

Kim Guadagno

24%

Bob Hoatson

1%

Steve Rogers

1%

Jim Johnson

4%

Joseph Rullo

1%

Raymond Lesniak

3%

Hirsh Singh

0

Lisa McCormick

2%

Dana Wefer

2%

Phil Murphy

23%

 

 

Titus Pierce

0

 

 

Jon Wisniewski

4%

 

 

Mark Zinna

0

 

 

Someone else

6%

Someone else

12%

DK (vol)

53%

DK (vol)_

54%

Refused (vol)

2%

Refused (vol)

2%

 

Question wording and order

US1 through US7 withheld

NJ1.     And turning to New Jersey, do you approve or disapprove of the job Chris Christie is doing as governor?

[Randomize approve/disapprove]

1          Approve

2          Disapprove

3          Neither (vol)

8          DK (vol)         

9          Refused (vol)  

 

 

1/10

3/3/10

3/30/10

5/10

8/10

10/10

11/10

1/11

2/11

4/11

5/11

9/11

10/11

1/12

Approve

48

52

43

44

47

51

49

53

51

51

44

54

51

53

Disapprove

31

21

32

42

36

37

39

36

39

41

44

36

36

37

 

 

 

3/12

5/12

8/12

9/12

11/12*

11/12**

1/13

3/13

6/13

8/13

10/13

11/13

1/14

3/14

Approve

54

56

55

51

56

77

73

66

61

58

62

61

48

41

Disapprove

34

33

35

35

33

17

19

20

26

29

35

24

39

44

 

*Pre-election; **Post-election

 

 

6/14

7/14

9/14

10/14

1/15

2/15

4/15

6/15

11/15

1/16

2/16

5/16

6/16

10/16

12/16

Approve

44

44

46

41

39

35

36

30

34

31

30

26

26

21

18

Disapprove

44

41

40

47

47

51

50

55

56

59

61

66

62

72

73

 

 

 

1/17

3/17

Approve

18

20

Disapprove

78

72

 

 

NJ2      In your opinion, do you think things in New Jersey are moving in the right direction or are they on the wrong track? [Randomize right direction/wrong track]

1          Right direction

2          Wrong track                

8          DK (vol)         

9          Refused (vol)  

 

 

1/10

3/3/10

3/30/10

5/10

8/10

10/10

11/10

1/11

2/11

4/11

5/11

9/11

10/11

1/12

Right direction

27

32

33

35

42

44

40

44

44

44

36

45

46

44

Wrong track

55

49

55

55

48

48

51

48

47

57

55

47

43

47

 

 

 

3/12

5/12

8/12

9/12

11/12*

11/12*

1/13

3/13

6/13

8/13

11/13

1/14

3/14

Right direction

51

50

49

52

58

69

61

57

57

49

56

51

41

Wrong track

39

41

40

34

30

19

26

26

28

34

28

39

45

 

*Pre-election; **Post-election

 

 

6/14

7/14

9/14

10/14

1/15

2/15

4/15

6/15

11/15

1/16

2/16

5/16

6/16

10/16

12/16

Right direction

40

39

40

37

36

33

35

28

32

30

29

23

23

20

20

Wrong track

48

46

44

49

49

52

54

57

59

60

59

69

67

71

70

 

 

 

1/17

3/17

Right direction

20

24

Wrong track

73

67

 

 

 

NJ3      Some people say they are basically content with the state government, others say they are frustrated, and others say they are angry. Which of these best describes how you feel?

1          Content

2          Frustrated

3          Angry

8          DK

9          Refused (vol)

 

NJ4      All in all, how good a job does the state government do in running its programs? An excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

1          Excellent

2          Good

3          Fair

4          Poor

8          DK

9          Refused (vol)

 

NJ5      How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Trenton to do what is right? Just about always, most of the time, some of the time, or do you believe it can’t be trusted to do what’s right ever?

1          Always

2          Most of the time

3          Some of the time

4          Can’t be trusted

8          DK

9          Refused (vol)

 

NJ6      Some people think of the state government as a friend or protector. Others see it as bother, or even an enemy. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means you think the state government is your enemy, and 10 means you think the state government is your friend, where on this scale would you place yourself?

Record score

98        DK (vol)

99        Refused (vol)

 

 

Sample characteristics (weighted)

Gender

Male

49%

 

Female

51%

Age

18-34

27%

 

35-59

40%

 

60+

32%

 

Refused

1%

Race

White

65%

 

African American

14%

 

Hispanic

13%

 

Asian

4%

 

Other/Refused

4%

Party (with leaners)

Dem

51%

 

Ind/DK/Refused

20%

 

Repub

29%

 


[1] Questions concerning state government were adaptations of those used by the Pew Research Center.

 

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