Quinnipiac Poll: Sherrill Leads Ciattarelli by 8 Points in N.J. Race

Democrat candidate Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., is leading Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli by 8 percentage points in the closely watched New Jersey governor's race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

The survey found Sherrill with 49% support and Ciattarelli with 41% support among likely voters with less than two months to go until Election Day.

Four percent of respondents are undecided, and 2% did not provide a response.

Among Democrats, 93% say they back Sherrill, while 95% of Republicans say they plan to vote for Ciattarelli. Independents split nearly down the middle, with 45% saying they support Sherrill and 41% saying they prefer Ciattarelli.

Men narrowly back Ciattarelli over Sherrill, 48% to 44%, respectively, while the gap for women is substantially larger, as the poll found 35% say they're for Ciattarelli, and 55% say the same for Sherrill.

"With just under seven weeks to go, the race for the Trenton State House leans Sherrill's way as Ciattarelli lags on three key character issues: honesty, empathy and leadership," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

Given a list of 11 issues and asked which is the most important one in deciding who to vote for, 30% of likely voters said taxes, while 14% said ethics in government. No other issue reached double digits among the overall survey sample.

For Republican voters, the issue of taxes topped the list, at 40%, followed by immigration, (13%) and crime (11%).

Ethics in government was the top issue for Democrats, at 20%, followed by healthcare (18%), taxes (17%), and inflation (12%).

Independents said the most important issue was taxes, at 37%, followed by ethics in government, at 15%, with no other issue reaching double digits.

When asked which candidate would do a better job of handling property taxes in New Jersey, 46% say Ciattarelli, while 40% say Sherrill. Another 14% did not give an opinion.

Asked which candidate would do a better job of handling electricity costs in the Garden State, 42% say Sherrill, while 40% say Ciattarelli. Seventeen percent did not give an opinion.

Voters were evenly divided on their satisfaction with the way things currently stand in the state, with 49% saying they are either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied and 49% saying they are either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

The poll was conducted Sept. 11-15 and surveyed 1,238 likely New Jersey voters. The margin of error is ±3.9 percentage points.

• Ciattarelli Trails Sherrill by Single Digits for N.J. Governor
• Rutgers/Eagleton Poll: Sherrill up by 9 Points for N.J. Governor