Jones Lang LaSalle
Poll finds few think state is on right track
1/12/2006, 6:01 a.m. ET
By JEFFREY GOLD The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Despite garnering nearly 53.5 percent of the ballots in November, Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine will take office Tuesday with just one-third of voters believing things in New Jersey are moving in the right direction, according to a poll released Thursday. Almost half say the state is on the wrong track.
That is an improvement from late October, when only one-fourth of those surveyed by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll thought the state was on the right track and about two-thirds said it was heading in the wrong direction.
"Voters' opinions of the state's direction were bound to improve a little once we got past the extremely negative campaign season," poll director Peter J. Woolley said. "The campaign itself was making voters cranky."
However, the figures are worse than a year ago, when 40 percent of registered voters said the state was headed in the right direction, and 45 percent said it was on the wrong track.
Corzine's ratings have slipped over the past year, with 43 percent of those surveyed now holding a favorable opinion of the Democrat, and 31 percent an unfavorable opinion. Last January, the split was 53-21, the poll found.
Meanwhile, Gov. Richard J. Codey's popularity continued to rise, with nearly seven in 10 voters saying they have a favorable opinion of the state Senate president who took over as governor when James E. McGreevey resigned 14 months ago.
A year ago, nearly half the voters had a favorable opinion of the once little-known Essex County Democrat, but nearly as many had no opinion.
Codey, however, still trails Thomas H. Kean as the most popular governor. Kean, a Republican who served two terms from 1982-90, is considered the best governor by over a quarter of those polled.
Essentially tied for second place are Republican Christie Whitman (with 18 percent) and Codey (with 16 percent).
"Tom Kean's national visibility on the 9/11 Commission and his distance from the rough and tumble of New Jersey politics have cemented his reputation," Woolley said.
McGreevey, a Democrat, remains the top choice for worst former governor, with 29 percent of voters picking him.
The telephone poll of 707 registered voters was conducted Jan. 3-10 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Poll finds few think state is on right track
1/12/2006, 6:01 a.m. ET
By JEFFREY GOLD The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Despite garnering nearly 53.5 percent of the ballots in November, Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine will take office Tuesday with just one-third of voters believing things in New Jersey are moving in the right direction, according to a poll released Thursday. Almost half say the state is on the wrong track.
That is an improvement from late October, when only one-fourth of those surveyed by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll thought the state was on the right track and about two-thirds said it was heading in the wrong direction.
"Voters' opinions of the state's direction were bound to improve a little once we got past the extremely negative campaign season," poll director Peter J. Woolley said. "The campaign itself was making voters cranky."
However, the figures are worse than a year ago, when 40 percent of registered voters said the state was headed in the right direction, and 45 percent said it was on the wrong track.
Corzine's ratings have slipped over the past year, with 43 percent of those surveyed now holding a favorable opinion of the Democrat, and 31 percent an unfavorable opinion. Last January, the split was 53-21, the poll found.
Meanwhile, Gov. Richard J. Codey's popularity continued to rise, with nearly seven in 10 voters saying they have a favorable opinion of the state Senate president who took over as governor when James E. McGreevey resigned 14 months ago.
A year ago, nearly half the voters had a favorable opinion of the once little-known Essex County Democrat, but nearly as many had no opinion.
Codey, however, still trails Thomas H. Kean as the most popular governor. Kean, a Republican who served two terms from 1982-90, is considered the best governor by over a quarter of those polled.
Essentially tied for second place are Republican Christie Whitman (with 18 percent) and Codey (with 16 percent).
"Tom Kean's national visibility on the 9/11 Commission and his distance from the rough and tumble of New Jersey politics have cemented his reputation," Woolley said.
McGreevey, a Democrat, remains the top choice for worst former governor, with 29 percent of voters picking him.
The telephone poll of 707 registered voters was conducted Jan. 3-10 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 10:24 AM
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