FDU PublicMind - October 4, 2002 Release

McGreevey Looks Good

October 4, 2002

As his party casts about to salvage its Senate race, it is Governor Jim McGreevey who is arguably the most popular elected statewide official. Three in five likely voters have a very or somewhat favorable view of the governor as he nears the anniversary of his election. "The Governor has recovered somewhat from a challenging first budget season," said Dr. Bruce Larson, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "The Governor last spring was in the midst of heated budget negotiations and dogged by pessimistic economic forecasts. Now, the state's wild Senate race has taken the limelight."

The Governor's personal popularity, however, is higher than his job performance rating. When asked to rate the Governor's job performance, only 1 in 2 voters say excellent or good. Still, only 1 in 10 voters give a rating of "poor."

Meanwhile, the President's job ratings remain strong in the Garden State. Two in every three voters say George W. Bush is doing an excellent or good job.

The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll was conducted from September 18 to 23 and surveyed 601 likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Poll Analysis

Fairleigh Dickinson Professor, Dr. Bruce Larson can be reached at (973) 443-8727