NJ governor’s race is on the corner
New Jersey — New poll of the New Jersey governor’s race finds Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, leading Republican Jack Ciattarelli by eight points, with 16% of respondents still undecided.
“While Republicans have been narrowing the gap, there are still more Democrats than Republicans in the state, and Ciattarelli needs to start pulling in more independents and Democrats if he wants to win,” said Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson professor and the poll’s director.
Ciattarelli comes from voters in urban areas (46% to 23%) and suburban areas (49% to 30%). Voters in other regions of the state are nearly split between the two candidates: 41% to 41% among exurbanites, 39% to 41% among those living in the southern part of the state or near Philadelphia, and 43% to 39% among shore dwellers.
Ciattarelli still needs a substantial share of independents to win in November. Likewise, Sherrill must hold her edge with independents across key areas to cushion against any softness in base turnout.”
The Rutgers poll surveyed 1,650 likely New Jersey voters through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from July 31-Aug. 11. The margin of error is 3.7 percentage points.
Ciattarelli is walking a fine line with Trump: he needs to consolidate Trump supporters, but do so without making the race too national, or turning off voters who don’t like what’s happening in Washington,” Cassino said.
The poll surveyed 806 registered New Jersey voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.
