NJ Republicans Overwhelmingly Support MAGA Movement, New Poll Finds

The overwhelming majority of Republican voters in New Jersey support the “Make America Great Again” movement, a new poll says.

The latest Rutgers-Eagleton poll – released on Wednesday – found that 53 percent of Republican voters in the Garden State “strongly support” MAGA. Another 32 percent “somewhat support” MAGA, while 1 percent “somewhat oppose” and 2 percent “strongly oppose” it. About 12 percent of respondents said they don’t support or oppose it.

Meanwhile, most Democratic voters said they are opposed to MAGA, with 80 percent saying they are “strongly opposed” and 6 percent saying they are “somewhat” opposed. About 2 percent of Democratic voters said they “strongly support” MAGA and 3 percent said they “somewhat support” it, with 9 percent reporting that they have no opinion.

The state’s independent voters – a large bloc in New Jersey – are a bit more divided, pollsters said:

“Forty-five percent of independents oppose the movement (37% “strongly,” 8% “somewhat”), but 27% say they support it at some level (11% “strongly,” 16% “somewhat”). Twenty-eight percent of independents say they neither support nor oppose it.”

Although Republican voter registration has grown in the past year, Democrats still hold a sizable advantage in numbers heading into the 2025 election. According to the latest statistics from the state, there were 2.53 million registered Democrats, 1.66 million Republicans and 2.31 unaffiliated voters in New Jersey as of Aug. 1.

Other findings from the Rutgers-Eagleton poll included:

RACE AND ETHNICITY – White voters are two to four times more likely than voters of other racial or ethnic backgrounds to support the movement – 26% “strongly support” and 18% “somewhat support” it. One in five Hispanic voters (10% “strongly,” 11% “somewhat”) and Asian voters (5% “strongly,” 15% “somewhat”) support MAGA to some degree, compared to 10% of Black voters (3% “strongly,” 7% “somewhat”). Black voters, on the other hand, are the most likely of any racial or ethnic group to oppose MAGA (66% “strongly,” 5% “somewhat”), followed by Hispanic voters (51% “strongly,” 6% “somewhat”) and Asian voters (43% “strongly,” 10% “somewhat”). Forty-three percent of white voters oppose the movement at some level (38% “strongly,” 5% “somewhat”).

AGE – MAGA support is stronger among older voters compared to younger voters. About four in 10 of those 50 years or older say they support the movement, compared to a third of those ages 35 to 49 and about one-fifth of those 18 to 34 years old.

INCOME – Voters in households making $150,000 or more are the most opposed to MAGA of any income group – 60% oppose (54% “strongly,” 6% “somewhat”) to 29% support (15% “strongly,” 14% “somewhat”). About a third of each of the lower income brackets support MAGA at some level, while about one in five of these groups are unsure and under half are opposed.

EDUCATION – Non-college educated voters are more supportive of MAGA than those with a college degree or more: About four in 10 support it at some level among the former, while nearly three in 10 say the same among the latter. Forty-fix percent of those with a high school education or less formal schooling and 39% of those with some college education oppose the MAGA movement to some degree. Over half of those with a college degree and six in 10 of those who have completed graduate work oppose MAGA at some level.

LOCATION – Voters living in urban and suburban areas are much less supportive than those living in exurban, South Jersey, or Shore areas. About a quarter each of urban voters and suburban voters support MAGA at some level, while over half of each group opposes it. About four in 10 voters in the remaining regions support the movement at some level, while just under half in each oppose it.

“President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement may provoke mixed reactions among New Jersey voters overall, but it certainly has the backing of most of the Republican base here in the Garden State,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

“Historically, moderation and center-right policy have often been a winning ticket for Republicans in New Jersey, but today, both GOP voters and candidates in the state appear to have aligned themselves with the national MAGA brand,” Koning added.

The above results are from a statewide poll of 1,650 registered voters contacted through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from July 31 to August 11. The registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points; when likely voting is modeled, the margin of error becomes +/- 3.7 percentage points.

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