Poll: Booker job approvals strong, but Menendez drop six points in one year

Cory Booker has a strong 52%-33% job approval rating from New Jersey voters, but Bob Menendez is at 38%-38% one year before he’s up for re-election in a Monmouth University poll of New Jersey’s two United States Senators.

Menendez, who is reportedly facing an investigation, has seen his approvals drop from 44%-39% in an April 2022 Monmouth poll.  Still, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman has traditionally polled far below his electoral performance; he was at 37%-38% in April 2018, five months before he won re-election by 14 percentage points against a $40 million onslaught from self-funder Bob Hugin.

Booker, who is not up for re-election until 2026, is holding relatively steady in New Jersey.  Monmouth polls put him at 55%-33% in 2022 and at 51%-34% in April 2020.  In November 2020, Booker set a record for the most votes ever received by a statewide candidate in New Jersey.

Among adult New Jersey residents, Booker has approvals of 54%-31%, while Menendez is at 39%-37%

Booker’s approval rating among Democrats is at 81% -7% and Menendez is at 59%-15%.  Booker has a 48%-35% approval rating among independents,  while  Menendez is at 32%-44%.   Among New Jerseyans of color, Booker is at 67%-17% and Menendez is at 46%-24%.

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted from January 5-9 with a sample size of 809 New Jersey adults and a margin of error of +/- 4.7%.