Half Of New Jerseyeans Say State Is On Wrong Track: Rutgers Poll

NEW JERSEY — Just over half of New Jersey residents surveyed in the latest Rutgers University-Eagleton poll say the state is on the wrong track.

This is compared to 38 percent who said New Jersey is headed in the right direction, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. The Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics released the poll on Monday of this week.

Rutgers conducted a statewide poll of 1,044 adults contacted by live interviewers on landlines and cell phones from February 25 to March 4 (the full sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.5percentage points).

But which direction the state is headed in depends on who you ask. Democrats are twice as likely as independents and five times more likely than Republicans to say the state is going in the right direction (64 percent versus 33 percent and 13 percent, respectively).

Republican dissatisfaction in New Jersey should not be surprising: Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly won re-election this fall to the state's highest office, beating Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli by a razor-thin margin of less than 1 percent of the vote.

According to the poll, 82 percent of Republicans say the state has gone off on the wrong track. Over half of independents (55 percent) shared this negative sentiment, pollsters found.

White New Jersey residents (57 percent) have a more negative outlook on the state’s future than Black residents (33 percent) or Hispanic residents (41 percent). Millennials are the least pessimistic (38 percent) – and the most optimistic (48 percent) – age group.

Those with a high school degree or less schooling are the least optimistic (31 percent say “right direction”) compared to those with higher levels of education. Jersey Shore residents (29 percent) were also the most unsatisfied with the state's direction.

Nothing upsets New Jerseyans more than how their state government has handled financial areas like affordability and taxes.

How does the government manage the cost of living and affordability in NJ? Eight in 10 are dissatisfied at some level – 51 percent “very,” 29 percent “somewhat."

On the other hand, 17 percent are “somewhat” satisfied, and just 3 percent are “very” satisfied. Similarly, three-quarters are dissatisfied (50 percent “very,” 26 percent “somewhat”) with how the state is handing taxes, compared to one in five who are satisfied (3 percent “very,” 18 percent “somewhat”).

How does state government handle the budget and government spending? (32 percent “very” dissatisfied, 23 percent “somewhat”), while over a third are more positive on this issue (6 percent “very” satisfied, 30 percent “somewhat”).

How does New Jersey do regarding mental health and addiction? 36 percent satisfied, 47 dissatisfied

How well does NJ handle transportation and infrastructure? 48 percent satisfied, 48 dissatisfied, with most responses residing somewhere in the middle.

How is NJ handling the pandemic? 54 percent satisfied, 45 percent dissatisfied, economy and job market (55 percent satisfied, 44 dissatisfied), crime and safety (57 percent satisfied, 43 dissatisfied), and the environment (58 percent satisfied, 38 dissatisfied).

How is state government handling healthcare?

16 percent “very satisfied,” 45 percent “somewhat”

How is the state of NJ education and schools? 25 percent “very,” 40 percent “somewhat." While over six in 10 say they are satisfied with the state’s education system and schools, just around three in ten are dissatisfied – the lowest level of dissatisfaction seen on any issue.

“New Jerseyans have a slightly better outlook on the state’s future nowadays than when the Murphy administration first took over in 2018, but pessimistic views still outweigh optimistic ones,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling. "Taxes and affordability are issues that have continually plagued the state, at least in the past five decades that we have been polling, while education has always been viewed as a strong point.”

She said New Jersey residents only answered overwhelmingly positively in June of 2021. This was when Gov. Murphy was riding pandemic-induced high ratings, she said, and was praised by the public for making the COVID-19 vaccine widely available.