LoBiondo Leads Hughes in Latest Stockton Poll

Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2) leads his Democratic challenger, William Hughes Jr., in his bid for re-election, but the undecided voters can still make a big difference in the race, if the latest poll commissioned by The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is to be believed.

LoBindo leads Hughes, 44 percent to 38 percent in their race for the Second Congressional District seat. Another 18 percent are undecided or not expressing a choice, according to the results of the Stockton Institute Poll released Thursday night.

When respondents who are leaning toward one candidate or the other are included, LoBiondo is leading Hughes 47 percent to 42 percent.

The poll was conducted by Survey Technology & Research Center (STR). Live interviewers called both landlines and cell phones from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, 2014. The poll was conducted with 604 adults who are likely voters in New Jersey’s 2nd District. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Margin of error is higher for subsets.

“The poll captures a snapshot in time of an important race for South Jersey,” Sharon Schulman, Chief Executive Officer of External Affairs and Institutional Research, said. “With a month to Election Day on Nov. 4, there are a large number of undecided voters.”

LoBiondo has held his seat since 1994. In 1992, William Hughes Sr. fended off LoBiondo’s bid to unseat him n the Second District. LoBiondo was elected after Hughes Sr. decided not to run for re-election.

Of those polled, 61 percent have a favorable view of LoBiondo, with 28 percent unfavorable and 10 percent unfamiliar with him or unsure.

Fifty-two percent rate the incumbent’s job performance as excellent or good, and 45 percent rate it as fair or poor.

Only 9 percent rate the job performance of the U.S. Congress as a whole as good or excellent. Thirty-two percent rate it as fair, and 58 percent rate it as poor.

Forty-six percent have a favorable view of Hughes, with 21 percent unfavorable. Nearly one in four (24 percent) are not familiar with the challenger, and 9 percent are unsure.

LoBiondo draws the most support from men and senior citizens, while Hughes is strongest among voters younger than 30 and African-American voters.

LoBiondo enjoys the backing of 83 percent of Republican voters, and Hughes is backed by 71 percent of Democrats. A large 44 percent of unaffiliated respondents did not back either major-party candidate at this time.

Election Day is Nov. 4.