Some N.J. voters are rethinking their support for Gov. Mikie Sherrill, new poll shows
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has little support in New Jersey as the midterms approach.
Ten months into her first year term, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s approval rating has dropped, especially among Democrats, who say they don’t know enough to judge her performance yet, a poll released Wednesday said.
But there is nothing ambiguous about how New Jersey voters feel about President Donald Trump, according to a new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 805 voters this month.
The poll found 66% voters disapprove of the president, 29% approve and 5% said they didn’t know or declined to answer.
Sherrill’s approval ratings declined 10 points in October to 48% compared to the last time Fairleigh Dickinson University surveyed voters in March, when it was 58%. Yet her disapproval rating of 32% remained the same in both polls, said Dan Cassino, a Professor of Government and Politics and the executive director of the FDU Poll.
The difference is the 12-point spike in the number of people who said they “didn’t know,” or “weren’t sure” or declined to answer the question, according to the poll.
“Normally, you’d expect attitudes toward the governor to become more, rather than less, certain over time,” Cassino said. “But for whatever reason, Democrats are not as happy with the Governor as they were when she took over.”
The poll didn’t ask why some voters did not approve of Sherrill’s performance. But she faced some controversies since the last poll.
She asked for and received the resignation of Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell after an independent investigation concluded he had sexually harassed a woman on his staff and made other ethical lapses, which he denies. She was also criticized by some progressives for bringing in the State Police to quell the protests outside of Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark. They claimed the State Police treated them no better than ICE officers by showing up in riot gear on horseback and assaulting them.
Cassino said he suspects the uncertainty rose because the Democratic brand remains unpopular nationally and the number of people who identify as progressive or liberal is growing.
In March, 88% of Democrats said that they approved of the job Sherrill was doing compared to 71% in the October survey, which was conducted by text-to web surveys from Oct. 16 through 22 by Braun Research of Princeton on behalf of the university.
“It’s not clear what Sherrill has done to cause voters who should be among her most loyal supporters to distance themselves,” Cassino said. “But whatever it is, this is a blinking yellow light for the administration.”
Among Republican voters statewide, the president holds a 95% approval rating among self-identified MAGA voters, 68% among conservatives, 21% among moderates, the poll said.
“Trump isn’t running for re-election, but he has made himself the face of the Republican Party,” Cassino said. “The fact that he’s this unpopular means that he’s dragging down Republican candidates in a way that a less visible President might not be.”
The Nov. 3 midterm elections will decide whether Republicans maintain control of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
Polls widely indicate the Democrats are most likely to flip the House, with two-term Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th District in central and north Jersey considered to be among the most vulnerable. Democratic newcomer and former U.S. Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett is favored to win.
South Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew is likely on more solid ground in the 2nd District, but his Democratic challenger Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock is gaining more attention as pundits predict a “blue wave.”
