Gov. Phil Murphy has a 15-point lead, 48%-33%, over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the first post-primary head-to-head matchup in the New Jersey Governor’s race, according to a poll released on Monday by Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Murphy has a job approval of 50%-39%, which is lower than pre-primary polls conducted by Monmouth University and Rutgers-Eagleton. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll conducted before the primary and released on June 8 showed Murphy with a 26-point lead over Ciattarelli.
Ciattarelli has favorables of 16%-14%, with 53% of New Jersey voters having no opinion of him. Another 17% have never heard of the former assemblyman from Somerset County.
“Ciattarelli has his work cut out for him,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the poll’s executive director. “Being unknown is better than being disliked but running ads in New Jersey to build up awareness is an expensive proposition.”
Among suburban voters – those who are integral to any path to a Republican victory in November – Murphy leads 47%-34%. The incumbent has a 48.5% -20% lead among urban voters and a 48%-31% among those from rural parts of the state.
Independents are backing Ciattarelli by a 28%-23% margin, the FDU poll shows.
The two candidates are statistically tied among men (Murphy 39%, Ciattarelli 37%), but Murphy has a 54%-27% lead among women.
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