Sherrill job approvals at 58%, new FDU poll shows

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has a 58%-34% job approval rating after two months in office, a new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released this morning shows.

The poll has Sherrill sitting on a 88%-7% approval rating among Democrats, results that closely mirror a poll conducted last month by powerbroker George E. Norcross III.

Sherrill is at 85% among liberals and 88% with progressives.  The fledgling governor is at 50%-40% among independents, and upside-down at 22%-71% among Republicans; Sherrill is at 25%-65% among conservatives, and 14%-75% among MAGA voters.  Among moderates, Sherril has a 63%-27% job approval.

“As the governor starts having to make tough choices, these numbers are going to go down,” said Cassino. “The question is what Sherrill does with her high support while she has it.”

The FDU poll asked a question about Sherrill’s relationship with President Donald Trump: “Already, the governor has come into conflict with President Trump. When there is a conflict, what do you think the governor should do? Should she try and work with President Trump, or should she use lawsuits and other means to defy him?”

More than four-in-ten voters (42%) said they want Sherrill to work with Trump, and 31% prefer that she defy him.  About one-quarter of New Jerseyans (26%) said that “it depends” on the circumstances.

It’s no surprise that those numbers move along partisan and ideological lines: 50%  of Democrats want Sherrill to defy Trump, 15% prefer to work with him, and 26% say it depends on the matter; among progressives, the defy/work with number jumps to 59%-10%, and among liberal voters, the number is 53%-20%.

More independents (46%) want Sherrill to work with Trump than defy him (18%).    Among moderates, the split is nearly even: 34% say work with Trump, and 31% prefer that Sherrill defy him.

Among Republicans, 80% says work with Trump and 8% prefer the governor to defy him; the defy/work with radio is 11%-74% among conservatives and 2%-93% among MAGA voters.

“Being a MAGA voter isn’t like being a conservative or a libertarian,” Cassino stated. “The MAGA coalition is real, but the fact that it’s so tied to an individual means that people move pretty freely in and out of it depending on how they’re feeling about Trump at the moment.”

Sherill’s approval ratings are 62%-31% among women, 53%-39% among men, 53%-39% among White voters, 77%-13% among Black voters, and 69%-29% among Hispanics.

Cassino says that Sherrill “is getting what no politician on the national level gets these days: the benefit of the doubt.”

“Independents, and even some Republicans, have nothing bad to say about her yet, and that approval is political capital in her talks with the legislature,” he said.

A FDU Poll in January 2018 showed Phil Murphy beginning his governorship with a 35%-21% approval rating.  FDU showed Chris Christie at 48%-31% in January 2010, and Jon Corzine at 47%-16%.  Murphy and Corzine are Democrats; Christe was a Republican.

The Fairleigh Dickson University Poll was conducted between March 20-28 with a sample size of 805 registered voters and a margin of error of +/- 3.4%.