Democrats running for New Jersey governor are in a close race, with several of the candidates within striking distance of one another less than two months from the June 10 election, a new poll from Rutgers University's Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling found.
According to the survey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., is leading the field with 17% support, followed by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, with 12%. New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller came in at 10% and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka were tied with 9% support each.
Former state Senate President Steve Sweeney garnered 7% support.
About one-third of the poll's respondents said they were unsure who they would support, while 4% said they would pick none of the named candidates.
"All of the candidates have made some progress since the fall in terms of voters knowing who they are, but they haven't made noticeable gains in favorability," Eagleton Center Director Ashley Koning said in a release. "Though not necessarily unusual at this stage in the game, candidates on both sides of the aisle still lack name recognition from a notable number of voters, and no candidate on either side of the aisle is viewed favorably by more than one in five voters."
Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is ineligible to seek reelection after two terms in office.
The first independent assessment of the race in months, the survey is one of the only ones that is not connected to a candidate's campaign.
According to The Hill, internal polls have thus far reported similar results, with Sherrill maintaining a slight lead over the next-closest contender, most commonly Fulop, Baraka, or Spiller, depending on the poll.
Sherrill also holds the distinction of being the only Democrat with a net positive favorability rating. According to the survey, 20% view her favorably, while 14% view her unfavorably; 22% said they have no opinion of Sherrill, and 44% said they don't know who she is.
Of the Republican candidates, former state Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli seems to be the front-runner for the GOP nomination, with 42% support from registered voters. Ciattarelli, who was the 2021 party nominee, ran unsuccessfully against Murphy in the last election.
Former radio host Bill Spadea came in second, with 12%, followed by state Sen. Jon Bramnick, with 4% support.
One-third said they are not sure, and 4% said they would support none of those candidates.
The poll was conducted April 1-10 and surveyed 1,058 New Jersey adults, including 966 registered voters. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points, while the margin of error for registered voters is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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