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Voters likely to participate in the 2009 election for Governor of New Jersey have virtually no idea who is running for Lt. Governor, according to a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll.  State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), Gov. Jon Corzine's running mate, has upside-down statewide favorable of 9%-11%, with, 80% of likely voters not knowing who she is.  Christopher Christie's running mate, Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, has favorable of 8%-4%, and 89% of voters are unfamiliar with her.

Frank Esposito, the former Kean University professor and acting president who is running for Lt. Governor on a ticket with Independent Christopher Daggett, has statewide favorable of 6%-3%; 91% of likely voters don't recognize his name.

Among undecided likely voters, Weinberg's favorable are 4%-3%, with 92% having no opinion; Guadagno is at 3%-2%, with 95% don't recognize her.

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has an eight point lead over Gov. Jon Corzine in a new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll

Republican Christopher Christie continues to lead Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in independent polls.  A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll released today shows Christie leading Corzine by eight percentage points among likely voters, 47%-39% with 5% for Independent Christopher Daggett.

Christie led by ten points in a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, and had an eight point lead in a Rasmussen Reports poll released on Thursday.

 "A Republican holding a steady poll lead is unprecedented in recent New Jersey elections and this shouldn't be discounted.  But the results also indicate there is a lot of churning in this electorate," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.  "Despite the incumbent's continued unpopularity, there is still a sense that anything can happen."

Corzine's job approvals are upside-down, at 37%-52%.  He has upside-down favorable of 39%-45%.  Christie had favorable of 41%-29%.

More than half (55%) of likely voters view the 2009 gubernatorial campaign has negative.

"Negative campaigning in New Jersey is nothing new, but past polling tells us that voters usually don't notice that negative tone until October.  Getting the electorate to register its disapproval of the campaign's conduct immediately after Labor Day is truly an accomplishment," said Murray.

Among independent likely voters, Christie is running fifteen points ahead of Corzine, 45%-30%.  Christie leads among Republicans 82%-8%, while Corzine leads among Democrats 77%-8% -- a 10-point improvement since the summer.  Corzine has increased his support among Black and Hispanic voters.

Republican Christopher Christie has an eight point lead, 46%-38%, over Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll released today.  Christopher Daggett, an independent candidate, is at 6%, with 10% still undecided.

An August 27 Rasmussen poll that did not include Daggett had Christie ahead 47%-36%, with 7% saying they would prefer another candidate.

Rasmussen: "It's worth noting that other indicators suggest that Christie's lead might be a bit softer than the eight-point advantage indicates. Results before leaners are included show Christie up by just four points. Among those who are certain how they will vote, Christie leads by six. This suggests that the GOP campaign may be like a baseball team heading into the late innings with a lead but lacking a reliable closer. They're happy to be ahead but can't wait for the game to end so they can breathe again."

A Democratic poll conducted for Democracy Corps, an organization run by James Carville and Stan Greenberg, has Christie ahead by three points, 41%-38%, with Daggett at 10%.

Former state Commissioner of Environmental Protection Christopher Daggett, an independent candidate for governor, is polling at 9% statewide

Today's poll results show independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett trailing far behind his two major party rivals, but Daggett sees reason to be optimistic.

For one, although 67% of likely voters still don't know who Daggett is, that's down from 89% in last month's FDU poll.

"That's a remarkable jump, I think, and indicative of the fact that people in New Jersey are looking for an alternative. They are not satisfied with either of the candidates in my view," said Daggett, who served as Commissioner of Environmental Protection in Gov. Thomas Kean's cabinet.

One percent of the FDU poll's respondents volunteered Daggett as their preference when asked if they preferred someone other than Governor Jon Corzine or Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie.  In a Quinnipiac University poll released today, Daggett, who was included in the horse race question, gets the support of 9% of likely voters even though 87% had not heard enough about him to form an opinion.

"If I have 9% in the polls and my recognition is in the teens somewhere, that tells me when people hear about me they have a positive response," he said.  "I think what you'll see is the people as they get back from summer vacation and start to focus more -- as they see me in the debates and joint forums of one type of another -- you're going to see a change, and you're going to see it moving towards me because they're for me as opposed to against Corzine and Christie."

Quinnipiac University poll director Maurice Carroll said that Daggett gets much better numbers than the average independent or third party candidates, who tend to get a couple points by dint of voters' dissatisfaction with the two major party candidates.

"He's not going to win, but is he a factor?  Yeah. Nine points is a substantial factor," said Carroll, who added that his numbers could increase if voters like what they see in the televised debates, where Daggett - who raised the $340,000 necessary to receive public funds - gets his own podium.  It also depends on how close the race between Corzine and Christie is, since a close race between two higher profile candidates means an automatic drop off of for a candidate voters don't think can win.

The Quinnipiac University poll has Gov. Jon Corzine upside-down on two questions that are potentially problematic for his re-election bid: 40% of likely voter say he is honest and trustworthy, but 51% say he is not.  When Quinnipiac asked the same question about Robert Torricelli in September 2002, 30% of likely voters said the Democratic U.S. Senator had the honesty and integrity to serve effectively, while 46% said he did not. 

And while 41% of likely voters say he cares about the needs and problems of "people like you," 54% say he does not.

On the honesty issue, 59% of independents, 55% of women, and 27% of Democrats say he is not honest and trustworthy. 

More than four out of ten voters (44%) view former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie as honest and trustworthy, while 31% do not. Among independents, it's 39%-34%, and 39%-32% among women. 

About two-thirds of New Jersey voters (66%) have heard something about Christopher Christie giving a personal loan to a former federal prosecutor who worked for him.  Of those who are aware of the Michele Brown loan, 43% say it is a legitimate campaign issue and 49% say it would be an unfair attack:

This might be the whole ballgame: Asked which gubernatorial candidate would so a better job of handling the state budget, Christopher Christie leads 51%-38% over Jon Corzine among likely voters, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Those are good numbers in a state where 68% of voters believe New Jersey is going in the wrong direction.

Among Independents, Republican Christopher Christie leads Gov. Jon Corzine 46%-30%, with 16% for Christopher Daggett, a former state Environmental Protection Commissioner who is running as an independent, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.  Christie leads statewide among likely voters 47%-37%, with 9% for Daggett.

Christie leads 51%-36% among men (with 9% for Daggett), and 43%-39% among women (with 10%) for Daggett. 

In Essex and Hudson counties, Corzine has a 62%-28% lead over Christie, with Daggett at 5%.  Christie has a 43%-38%-10% lead in a region of the state that includes Bergen, Passaic, Union, Mercer, and Middlesex counties.  In the region that includes Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties, Christie has a 57%-28% lead, with 10% for Daggett.  Christie leads Corzine 43%-40% in Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, Cumberland, Cape May and Salem, and has a massive 65%-20% lead over Corzine in Atlantic, Monmouth and Ocean.  Daggett is at 10% in the three shore counties.

Christie has statewide favorable of 41%-30%; 27% have not heard enough about him.  He's at 72%-10% among Republicans, upside-down 15%-47% among Democrats, 40%-32% among Independents, 47%-28% among men, and 36%-32% among women.  In Essex and Hudson, he's upside-down 31%-39%.  He's at 38%-32% in Essex, Passaic, Union, Middlesex and Mercer counties, at 47%-30% in Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties, 35%-30% in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem Cumberland and Cape May counties; and 57%-21% in Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth counties.

Corzine has an upside-down statewide favorable of 34%-57%; just 6% don't know who he is.  He's at 63%-25% among Democrats, upside-down at 31%-62% among independents, and upside-down 8%-85% among Republicans.  His favorable are upside-down among men (34%-59%) and women (34%-54%).  He's at 53%-37% in Essex and Hudson counties, but upside-down everywhere else in the state: 39%-49% in Bergen, Passaic, Middlesex and Mercer; 34%-72% in Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren; 34%-57% in Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May; and 17%-73% in Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth.

President Barack Obama has a 51%-43% approval rating in New Jersey, a state that he carried 57%-42% nine months ago, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.  Obama's local approval rating was at 56%-39% three weeks ago, at 61%-33% on July 14, and at 68%-25% on June 10. 

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has a ten point lead over incumbent Jon Corzine in the race for Governor of New Jersey, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll

A new Quinnipiac poll shows Gov. Jon Corzine trailing Republican Christopher Christie by ten percentage points, 47%-37%, among likely voters, with independent Christopher Daggett running third with 9%.

An August 11 Quinnipiac poll had Christie leading 46%-40%, with Daggett at 7%. 

Corzine has upside-down approvals of 34%-60%, and has upside-down favorable of 34%-57%.  Christie has favorable of 41%-30%, while 87% of likely voters don't know much about Daggett.

 "Christie wins on many questions and he is pulling away from Corzine in a three-way matchup, with a double-digit lead," said Maurice Carroll, the poll director.  "Daggett's candidacy is just chipping away at the edges as he fails to climb out of single digits."

Nearly one-quarter of Democrats (26%) are not voting for the governor.  Christie is getting 15% of the Democratic vote, while 7% is going for Daggett.   Among independents, Christie leads Corzine 46%-30%, with Daggett getting 16%.  Christie gets 86% of the Republican vote, with 8% for Corzine and 4% for Daggett.

Of the 77% of likely voters who have seen one of Corzine's ads about Christie giving federal monitor contracts to Bush administration officials, 56% say the attacks are unfair and 36% view it as legitimate campaign issue. By a 59%-34%, independent voter say the issue is unfair.

Nearly half of voters (49%) who are familiar with charges, claims or attacks in the race for governor consider Corzine's attacks on Christie for giving a $46,000 personal loan to former federal prosecutor Michele Brown as unfair, while 43% call it fair.

Voters are split 45%-47% on whether it's fair to criticize Corzine for his personal relationship with former CWA President Carla Katz, and on Christie's ads criticizing Corzine for failing to guard against economic collapse.