| Earlier this week, The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll (PDF) polled New Jersey and found that confidence in Obama was high, with 74% being "very" or "somewhat" confident he can handle the financial crisis, and 64% thinking an economic stimulus package is necessary. Unfortunately for the man who has to face the voters this year, only 48% of the public has confidence in Governor Jon Corzine for the financial crisis, with a mere 9% "very" confident; 48% are "not very" or "not at all" confident in him.
Now, the second half of the survey (PDF) has been released and it's even worse news for Corzine. Only 34% of residents approve of his performance, and 51% disapprove. Democrats alone can't win an election, so it's very bad that 55% of independents disapprove. 72% think New Jersey is on the wrong track -- even worse than last September. I don't think you have to be an expert to see those are bad numbers for re-election, or as our pollster says:
"The public is looking for strong leadership in this volatile time, but they are unsure of Jon Corzine's hand on the tiller," commented Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Independent voters, a critical group for the governor's re-election prospects, have become particularly doubtful over the past few months."
I also don't think there's much for Corzine to like in the other questions. 67% do not know about Governor Corzine's plan to help New Jersey. Given the choice between "putting off current pension payments and increasing future debt" and "laying off state workers," 44% favor layoffs and only 34% like Corzine's pension scheme. I'd say the problem is that not paying into the pension plan is obviously irresponsible; in fact, he started his administration preaching about the importance of making the payments! 78% -- yes, 78% -- think state government in Trenton is not doing enough to control costs. (By the way, only 50% think their local town is not doing enough and only 42% think their local school district is not doing enough, so the public is not just blaming all government.) The poll also has "grades" on various areas, but I'm skeptical they mean much. Still, it's disturbing his "grade" in "level of effort" has dropped: I think that's a sign of hostility from the public, although I suppose it could be poor messaging. It's also not too good to see that he basically gets A's from only 5% of the public. There's not much enthusiasm out there. |
| I still think Corzine has a good shot at winning, but in my opinion, these polls numbers ensure a brutal, expensive campaign, with Corzine using negative ads to convince New Jersey that the other guy is even worse.
There were 803 adults in the survey with a statistical margin of error of 3.5 percent. |
