FDU PublicMind - January 13, 2004 Release

Governor's Poor Ratings are Steady-State

As Governor James McGreevey gives the annual State of the State address, his popularity remains lackluster. According to the most recent survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind, only 29% of registered voters in the Garden State think the Governor is doing a good or excellent job while 68% say he is doing only fair or poor. Moreover, only 25% of voters think the Governor has done a good enough job to deserve reelection while 58% would rather see a new person in the job.

The results are little changed from PublicMind polls taken in the past year. In September of 2003, only 29% of voters rated the Governor's performance as excellent or good and 27% said he deserved reelection. In April of 2003, only 28% of voters gave him ratings of excellent or good and 26% said he deserved reelection.

"The governor has had a difficult year, not least of all because of a sluggish economy, budget shortfalls, and persistent security concerns," suggested Bruce Larson, a professor of political science and survey analyst at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "The Governor can more or less sit out the election next November," added Larson. "The difficulty is that he can't sit out the budget process this spring."

Independents give the governor disappointing marks: 70% of independents rate the governor's performance as "only fair" or "poor" and 64% of independents would rather see a new person in the job.

A bright spot may be that voters are more optimistic about the direction of the state. In the most recent poll, 42% of say things in New Jersey are moving in the right direction while 46% say the state has gotten off on the wrong track. This compares to only 39% who said things were moving in the right direction last April and only 33% who said things were moving in the right direction in September. "Still," added Larson, "the public's slowly increasing optimism about the direction of the state has not yet translated into more favorable ratings for the Governor."

The two other statewide elected officials, Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg score somewhat better than McGreevey. Voters view Senator Corzine more favorably than unfavorably by 43% to 26%. Voters views Senator Lautenberg more favorably than unfavorably by 42% to 32%. But almost half of voters (48%) have an unfavorable view of the governor while 42% have a favorable view. "Clearly the Governor is more in the spotlight than other New Jersey politicians," said Larson. "His policy successes, as well as his ability to maneuver through yet another round of treacherous budget negotiations, will help make the difference in the two years remaining in his term."

Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll of 600 registered voters was conducted from January 4 through January 11 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Poll Analysis

Contacts:

Bruce Larson 973.443.8727

Peter Woolley 973.670.3239

Radio actuality line: (201) 692-2846.

For more information, please call (201) 692-7032.