Corzine Popularity Strong
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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A poll released Tuesday shows that the approval rating for Governor Corzine, Democrat of New Jersey, has dropped slightly since March but remains strong.
The poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind found 50 percent of voters approve of the Democrat’s job performance, compared to 55 percent in March. The poll has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The poll found 27 percent disapprove of Mr. Corzine’s performance, compared to 25 percent in March.
What’s key, said Peter Woolley, a political scientist and the poll director, is that Mr. Corzine’s 2-to-1 approval rating has been fairly consistent for his 18 months in office, even with New Jerseyans pessimistic about the state.
The poll found just 36 percent of voters think the state is headed in the right direction, while 50 percent contend it’s on the wrong track.
“Jersey voters are typically grumpy about the direction of the state, so the question is, who do they blame?” Mr. Wooley said. “They’re not blaming the governor.”
Mr. Corzine receives strong support from public worker households, with 60 percent approving his performance, the poll found.
It also found 38 percent of Republicans support Mr. Corzine’s performance.
Democratic consultant Leroy J. Jones Jr. said the numbers bode well for Mr. Corzine, who continues to recover from serious injuries suffered in an April 12 car accident.
“Gov. Corzine’s ratings across parties are strong, especially among Republican voters, with 38 percent approving of his performance,” Mr. Jones said. “If this trend continues, it might prove to be very interesting for Republicans in the fall midterms.”
All 120 Assembly and Senate seats will be decided in November.
Republican consultant Michael Torpey said Mr. Corzine won’t be a factor in Tuesday’s legislative primary elections.
“Hes not liked or disliked enough to matter,” Mr. Torpey said.
The poll found 48 percent of New Jerseyans approve of Senator Lautenberg’s performance, with 28 percent disapproving, a ratio that has gone unchanged for a year as the Democrat prepares for re-election next year.
It found 26 percent approve and 36 disapprove of Senator Robert Menendez, who won a bruising election last year.
Both Senators from New Jersey are Democrats.
The poll of 602 randomly selected registered voters statewide was conducted from May 29 through June 3.
