Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
TagsPeople feel Daggett won first debate
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine has taken a slight lead over Republican Chris Christie in the in the race for governor, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll made public Tuesday.
With four weeks to go until the Nov. 4 election, Corzine has edged ahead of Christie 44 percent to 43 percent among likely voters.
Another 4 percent said they will vote for Independent Chris Daggett and 5 percent said they are undecided.
Forty-nine percent now say Corzine will win in November compared to 37 percent who say Christie will win.
"With the start of an advertising blitz and the raw exposure of the debate, the race has tightened to a dead heat," said Peter Woolley, PublicMind poll director.
Corzine's new poll position is reflected by a shift in secondary measures. Corzine has all but caught up to Christie — 34 percent to 36 percent — on the question of "which candidate better understands the concerns of the average person?"
"Today's poll shows the strength and ongoing support for Governor Corzine, Senator Weinberg and the Democratic Party that continues to grow each day,'' state Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan said. He added, "Meanwhile, Christie continues to be wrong when it matters on the issues and values that are important to New Jersey families.''
Asked which candidate is better described as "honest, trustworthy," a measure in which Christie originally led by 33 percent to 24 percent, Corzine is now slightly ahead 31 percent to 28 percent. Corzine continues to lead easily — 45 percent to 29 percent — on the question of which candidate "has the background and experience to be a good governor."However, Corzine comes out on the short end of several other ratings: 37 percent have a favorable opinion of him compared to 54 percent who have an unfavorable view. Just 23 percent said the state is moving in the right direction.
Only 29 percent said Corzine is doing a good or excellent job as governor. And just 38 percent approve of his job performance, compared to 50 percent who disapprove — numbers essentially unchanged from a month ago. But 76 percent of Democrats said they will vote for him, up slightly from 73 percent a month ago and from 66 percent in early summer.
"Corzine is still swimming upstream against heavy currents," Woolley said. "Many De mocrats are voting for him despite their misgivings."
Christie attracts 4 in 5 Republicans, 81 percent, and about half of independents, 52 percent, but his ratings are suffering: 35 percent have a favorable opinion of him, while 42 percent have an unfavorable view.
Bill Stepien, Christie's campaign manager, said, "While Jon Corzine has out spent us by millions with his own Wall Street money with nasty, negative advertising for months, he has little to show for it because no amount of mudslinging will erase the fact that struggling families pay the highest taxes, not to mention highest property taxes in the country.''
Fifty percent of likely voters now say they have heard of Daggett, up from 33 percent a one month ago; but another 27 percent said that, while they've heard of him, they have no opinion of him.
"Daggett's support is a measure of voter discontent," Woolley said. "Rather than being a draw, he is the reflection of voters' unhappiness with the direction of the state and the campaign."
When Daggett's name is read in an interview along with Corzine's and Christie's name, Corzine leads Christie 38 percent to 37 percent and Daggett gets 17 percent of the vote. Daggett attracts twice as many Democrats as Republicans. But when another independent candidate's name is read -- in this case we chose Gary Steele — the effect is similar.
Independent Steele gets 12 percent of the vote while Corzine and Christie tie at 38 percent. Compared to 77 percent who say they've never heard of Daggett or have no opinion of him, 85 percent of likely voters say they have not heard of Steele and another 10 percent say they've heard of him but have no opinion.
While 7 in 10 can't name a winner in the recent gubernatorial debate, 14 percent said it was Daggett, 12 percent point to Corzine and 4 percent said Christie. More Democrats identify Corzine as the winner than identify Daggett as the winner, but about twice as many Republicans said Daggett was the winner as said Christie won.
"The debate clearly increased Daggett's name recognition and doubled his favorable ratings," 23 percent to 12 percent — Woolley said.
The Fairleigh Dickinson poll of 667 likely voters statewide was conducted by telephone from last Tuesday through Monday, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.