Third Congressional District Favors Booker Over Bell in November Election, Stockton Poll Finds

Voters in the Third Congressional District favor incumbent U.S. Sen. Cory Booker over challenger Jeff Bell by nine percentage points, according to a Stockton Institute Poll released Tuesday morning.

The Democrat Booker leads the Republican Bell with 50 percent support among 606 likely voters in the Third Congressional District, which includes parts of Burlington and Ocean counties. Bell’s support is at 41 percent.

In a statewide poll conducted by the Institute and released on Sept. 10, Booker leads Bell, 49 percent to 36 percent.

“This district has traditionally been part of the Republican Party base. Republicans generally have to win in this region to have a chance at a statewide office,” Daniel J. Douglas, director of the Hughes Center, said.

The poll also found that 55 percent in the Third Congressional District have a favorable view of Gov. Chris Christie, with 42 percent holding an unfavorable view. About 47 percent rate the governor’s job performance as excellent or good, with 27 percent rating it fair and 24 percent as poor.

The poll found that the congressional candidates, Democrat Aimee Belgard and Republican Tom MacArthur, are tied, each with 42.2 percent support of those surveyed.

The Stockton Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy conducted the poll. Live interviewers on the Stockton campus called both landlines and cell phones from Sept. 12-14, 2014. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4.0 percentage points.

Booker is seen favorably by 57 percent in the Third Congressional District and 31 percent hold an unfavorable view of him. Another 12 percent are unfamiliar with Booker or unsure about their view.

More than one-third (35 percent) don’t know the Republican challenger. Bell is seen favorably by 39 percent and unfavorably by 24 percent.

Despite Booker’s positive rating, only 44 percent rate his job performance as excellent or good, with 32 percent rating it as fair and 17 percent as poor.

Election Day is Nov. 4.

Among other findings in today’s Stockton Poll:

· Fifty-six percent say Congress as a whole is doing a poor job. Only 12 percent in the district rate Congress as doing an excellent or good job, and 32 percent rate it as fair.

· The need for jobs is named most often (by 22 percent) as the top issue facing New Jersey, followed by property taxes at 18 percent, the economy at 13 percent, and taxes in general at 12 percent.

· The poll finds strong support for a proposed state Constitutional amendment that would allow judges to deny bail to defendants who are flight risks or who pose threats to the public. Eighty-two percent support the proposal, with 12 percent opposed and 6 percent unsure or refusing to answer.

· Fifty-eight percent supports a second proposed Constitutional amendment that would increase the percentage of the Corporation Business Tax dedicated to environmental programs. The dedication would go from 4 percent to 6 percent on July 1, 2019. Thirty-six percent oppose the proposal, and 7 percent are unsure or refuse to answer.