Biden’s honeymoon with N.J. on handling Covid may be over, poll says

President Joe Biden’s approvals on the handling of the Covid pandemic have dropped 11 points since May in New Jersey, according to a new Monmouth University Poll released on Monday morning.

New Jerseyans put approval of Biden’s handling of the coronavirus at 65%-27 four months ago, but now it’s at 54%-31% — seven points below another Democrat, Gov. Phil Murphy.

Biden’s job approval rating among New Jersey voters has dropped four points in just three months.  He’s at 51%-41%, down from 55%-40%.

Nearly ten months after he won New Jersey by 16 points and a 725,061 vote plurality, Biden is now at 42%-45% among independents and 84%-9% with Democrats. New Jersey Republicans give him job approvals of 86%-11%.

Biden is at 54%-38% in North Jersey, 55%-36% in Central Jersey, and upside-down at 42%-49% in South Jersey.  He’s at 54%-36% among women, but men largely split on his job performance: 47% approve and 45% disapprove.

Independents put Biden’s handling of the pandemic at 47% good job, 34% bad job.  For his management of Covid since taking office in January, Biden is at 58%-31% among New Jerseyans who have children at home.

For his handling of Covid, Biden gets high marks among New Jerseyans of color (70%-11%), but tougher reviews among White voters (45%-43%).

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted between August 11-16 with a sample size of 810 registered voters and a margin of error of +/- 3.5%.  The Monmouth Poll is widely viewed among New Jersey political insiders as the gold standard of state polling.