BURSTDemocrat Mikie Sherrill is leading Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey gubernatorial race more than a month out from the election, according to a new poll.
A Fox News survey released on Tuesday, which was conducted by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research, found Sherrill leading Ciattarelli by 7 points, 48 percent to 41 percent, with registered voters. A separate 8 percent said they would vote for someone else. Among a cohort of likely voters, Sherrill’s lead grows slightly to 8 points, 50 percent to 42 percent.
Sherrill and Ciattarelli are vying to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) next month as the Garden State will hold one of the country’s two gubernatorial races this year.
Both candidates are looking to defy historical trends: Ciattarelli is hoping to overcome what would normally be a challenging environment during an off-year election for his political party. Democrats have consistently performed well at the ballot box during off-year and midterm elections since President Trump's first term.
Meanwhile, New Jerseyans haven’t voted for the same party three times in a row for governor since the early 1960s, making it a tall task for Sherrill, too.
The Fox News poll showed Murphy enjoying a higher approval rating than President Trump at 47 percent to 42 percent. Trump also has a higher disapproval rating than Murphy at 55 percent to 48 percent.
Most recent polls have shown Sherrill edging out or comfortably leading Ciattarelli, although an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released last week put the race at a dead heat, with both candidates tied at 43 percent with 11 percent undecided. While the poll found Trump enjoyed a higher approval rating than Murphy, he also enjoyed a higher disapproval rating compared to the New Jersey governor.
The New Jersey governor’s race, in addition to the one taking place in Virginia, will be seen as bellwethers, fairly or not, for how voters feel about both parties, Trump and the current economic landscape. However, candidate quality and local issues will be especially important in both races, too.
The Fox News poll was conducted between Sept. 25 and Sept. 28, with 1,002 New Jersey registered voters surveyed. There is a subsample of 822 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.