Corzine Report Card: Approvals Drop

Governor Jon Corzine’s brief flirtation with positive job performance ratings last month has ended, according to the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll.  His semi-annual report card continues to average a “C-” from the New Jersey public, while his grades for cutting waste and his level of effort have declined.

Currently, only 34% of all New Jersey adults approve of how their governor is handling his job, compared to 48% who disapprove.  Among registered voters, his ratings stand at 34% approve to 51% disapprove. Just last month, slightly more voters approved (43%) than disapproved (40%) of the Jon Corzine’s performance.  The governor’s current 34% approval number marks a return to the low public ratings he held last spring.

Governor Corzine has net positive job ratings only among his fellow Democrats – 49% approve to 32% disapprove.  He receives poor ratings from majorities of both independents (55% disapprove to 27% approve) and Republicans (69% disapprove to 19% approve).

While negative, the governor’s rating remains slightly better than the state legislature’s.  Only 25% of New Jerseyans approve of the job their legislature is doing, while 52% disapprove.

The poll also found that nearly 3-in-4 (72%) residents believe the state is generally on the wrong track.  Only 21% say it is going in the right direction.  The 72% “wrong track” number is the highest recorded by the Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll since Governor Corzine took office.

“The public is looking for strong leadership in this volatile time, but they are unsure of Jon Corzine’s hand on the tiller,” commented Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.  “Independent voters, a critical group for the governor’s re-election prospects, have become particularly doubtful over the past few months.”

When asked to grade Corzine on a number of key issues that formed the basis of his 2005 campaign for governor, the public continues to give him low C’s and D’s.  His overall average grade continues to be a low “C-”.  Broken down by partisanship, he averages a “C” among Democrats and a “D+” among Republicans, which are identical to the grades he received in the last report card issued in July 2008.  He also receives a “D+” average from independents, which is down from a “C-” in the last report card.

According to state residents, Governor Corzine’s performance is below average on providing property tax relief (D+) and making New Jersey a more affordable place to live (D), both of which were key themes in his 2005 campaign.  He also averages a D+ for controlling costs and cutting waste, which is down a half grade from July.

The governor averages a C- for bringing ethics and honesty back to state government.  He scores a C for improving our schools and for the level of effort he puts into working for New Jersey.  Corzine’s level of effort average has dropped a half grade since July.

The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted by telephone with 803 New Jersey adults from February 2 to 8, 2009.  This sample has a margin of error of ± 3.5 percent.  The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute and originally published by the Gannett New Jersey newspaper group (Asbury Park Press, Courier-Post, Courier News, Daily Journal, Daily Record, and Home News Tribune).

DATA TABLES

The questions referred to in this release are as follows:

(* Some columns may not add to 100% due to rounding.)

The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted and analyzed by the Monmouth University Polling Institute research staff.  The telephone interviews were collected by Braun Research on February 2-8, 2009 with a statewide random sample of 803 adult residents.  For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.  Sampling error increases as the sample size decreases, so statements based on various population subgroups, such as separate figures reported by gender or party identification, are subject to more error than are statements based on the total sample.  In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

It is the Monmouth University Polling Institute’s policy to conduct surveys of all adult New Jersey residents, including voters and non-voters, on issues which affect the state.  Specific voter surveys are conducted when appropriate during election cycles.

Click on pdf file link below for full methodology and results by key demographic groups.