District 9 Voters Favor Republicans in Legislative Race in Latest Hughes Center Poll

Likely voters in the 9th Legislative District favor the incumbent Republicans in the legislative races, according to the Richard Stockton College/Zogby poll commissioned by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Christie garnered a 67 percent favorability rating, while 33 percent view him unfavorably. President Barack Obama has seen his favorability rating in the state drop, as 43 percent of voters view him favorably and 56 percent view him unfavorably.

There has been speculation nationally in recent days that Christie may decide to run for president next year, although he has not committed at this point.

Locally, voters show a preference to incumbent Republican Senator Chris Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove over their Democratic challengers, Senate candidate Dorothy Ryan and Assembly candidates Carla Kearney and Bradley Bilihimer by a 2 to 1 margin.

Connors has garnered 46 percent of the vote to Ryan's 24 percent. Of those surveyed, 2 percent said they wanted someone else and 28 percent were unsure.

Brian Rumpf leads all Assembly candidates with 40 percent, followed by Gove at 32 percent, Bilihimer at 22 percent and Kearney at 21 percent.

“The Democrats’ chance of making up this much ground relies on their ability to convert nearly all of the ‘not sures’ to their voters. This is a difficult task for the challengers since less than 25 percent of the voters are familiar with them,” William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy Director Daniel J. Douglas said.

Where state issues are concerned, 56 percent of voters feel the state is headed in the right direction, while 36 percent felt the state was on the wrong track.

The Stockton/Zogby poll of 600 likely voters in District 9, of which Galloway Township is now a part, was conducted from Sept. 20-27. The poll's margin of error is +4.1 percent.

Election day is Nov. 8.