July 27, 2000 - Whitman Frisk Photo Was `Bad Idea,' New Jersey Voters 5 - 1 Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Torricelli Approval, Favorability Is Just OK By a 78 - 14 percent margin, New Jersey voters say Gov. Christine Todd Whitman's decision to frisk a black man, an event captured in a 1996 photo, was a "bad idea," according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. Despite this negative opinion, voters approve 55 - 37 percent of the job Whitman is doing as Governor, little changed from her 54 - 34 percent approval in a June 28 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University. Voters give Whitman a 49 - 39 percent approval for her handling of race relations, with a 51 - 38 percent approval among white voters and a negative 30 - 52 percent approval among black voters. A total of 64 percent of voters -- including 88 percent of black voters -- say racial profiling is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem in New Jersey. Most voters do not think the frisk photo will have any impact on race relations or the issue of racial profiling. "Blacks and whites agree that crime is a serious problem. But what to do about it? More blacks see racial profiling as a major problem and are more likely to question the Governor's riding along with police. Voters do agree, overwhelmingly, that her frisking a suspect showed a lapse of judgment," said Quinnipiac University Political Science Professor Scott McLean. "Nevertheless, voters still approve of her general job performance as Governor. They may give her a pass on this incident." As he positions himself for a run for Governor, Sen. Robert Torricelli gets a 42 - 28 percent approval rating from New Jersey voters. Sen. Frank Lautenberg's approval is 55 - 22 percent. By a 27 - 22 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of Torricelli, with 22 percent mixed and 29 percent who haven't heard enough to form an opinion. Woodbridge Mayor James McGreevey's favorability is 19 - 9 percent, with 15 percent mixed and 56 percent who haven't heard enough to form an opinion. Senate Race Democrat Jon Corzine holds a 50 - 30 percent lead over Republican Bob Franks in the New Jersey U.S. Senate race. Corzine held a 46 - 26 percent lead in the June 28 Quinnipiac University poll. "Rep. Bob Franks is still stuck in first gear, still an unknown. He must find a way to energize his campaign soon if he is to have any chance against Corzine," Dr. McLean said. Corzine's favorability is 23 - 18 percent, with 25 percent mixed and 33 percent who haven't heard enough to form an opinion. Franks' favorability is 12 - 7 percent, with 13 percent mixed and 67 percent who haven't heard enough to form an opinion. From July 19 - 24, Quinnipiac University surveyed 910 New Jersey registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as a public service and for research. For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christine Whitman is handling her job as Governor of New Jersey? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 55% 69% 46% 56% 61% 50% 57% 37% Disapprove 37 24 48 35 32 41 36 48 DK/NA 8 6 6 10 6 9 7 15 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Torricelli is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 42% 30% 53% 42% 41% 43% 43% 42% Disapprove 28 44 19 27 34 23 30 16 DK/NA 30 26 28 31 25 33 27 42 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 55% 40% 67% 53% 52% 57% 56% 53% Disapprove 22 38 13 20 29 15 22 16 DK/NA 23 22 20 27 19 28 22 30 5. How much attention have you been paying to the election campaign for United States Senator -- a lot, some, only a little, or none at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A lot 18% 23% 20% 13% 21% 15% 20% 12% Some 39 39 37 40 40 38 40 31 Only a little 30 29 28 33 26 33 28 35 None at all 13 10 14 13 12 14 12 21 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 - 1 - 1 6. Is your opinion of Bob Franks favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 12% 25% 7% 10% 17% 9% 14% 3% Unfavorable 7 4 9 6 8 6 6 6 Mixed 13 12 13 14 13 12 13 10 Hvn't hrd enough 67 58 71 70 61 72 65 79 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7. Is your opinion of Jon Corzine favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 23% 16% 28% 25% 25% 22% 23% 24% Unfavorable 18 30 13 14 25 11 20 7 Mixed 25 23 25 27 21 28 26 23 Hvn't hrd enough 33 29 34 34 27 38 31 44 REFUSED 1 2 1 1 2 - 1 1 8. If the election for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Jon Corzine the Democrat and Bob Franks the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Corzine 50% 13% 79% 48% 46% 53% 47% 71% Franks 30 72 6 25 36 24 34 6 WLDN'T VOTE (VOL) 3 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 DK/NA 18 13 13 24 15 20 16 20 9a. Is your opinion of Robert Torricelli favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 27% 14% 40% 24% 28% 26% 27% 23% Unfavorable 22 40 10 20 29 14 24 13 Mixed 22 18 21 26 17 25 22 19 Hvn't hrd enough 29 27 29 30 25 33 26 43 REFUSED 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 2 9b. Is your opinion of James McGreevey favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 19% 14% 26% 16% 19% 19% 20% 14% Unfavorable 9 15 3 10 13 5 9 6 Mixed 15 18 12 17 17 14 17 9 Hvn't hrd enough 56 52 58 56 51 61 54 67 REFUSED 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 3 25. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Governor Whitman is handling crime? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 58% 70% 50% 59% 63% 53% 61% 41% Disapprove 29 19 37 28 25 32 27 48 DK/NA 13 11 13 14 12 14 13 12 26. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Governor Whitman is handling race relations? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 49% 63% 40% 49% 53% 45% 51% 30% Disapprove 39 27 49 38 36 42 38 52 DK/NA 12 10 11 13 11 13 11 17 27. Do you think race relations in New Jersey are generally good or generally bad? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good 54% 68% 48% 53% 60% 49% 58% 29% Bad 35 19 42 37 32 38 31 57 DK/NA 11 13 9 11 8 14 11 14 28. Do you think race relations in New Jersey are getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Better 25% 30% 23% 24% 27% 23% 27% 12% Worse 13 9 12 18 12 14 12 20 About the same 59 58 62 55 59 58 58 66 DK/NA 3 4 3 3 2 4 3 2 29. Have you heard or read anything about racial profiling in NewJersey - that is the singling out of minority drivers for traffic stops by the state police? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 91% 89% 91% 92% 95% 86% 91% 85% No 9 10 8 8 5 13 8 15 DK/NA - - 1 - - 1 1 - 30. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Governor Whitman is handling racial profiling by New Jersey State police? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 45% 59% 37% 44% 50% 41% 47% 37% Disapprove 41 28 51 41 40 42 40 53 DK/NA 14 13 12 15 10 17 13 9 31. Since Governor Whitman was reelected in 1997, do you think that her policies have caused racial profiling by New Jersey state police to increase, decrease, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Increase 13% 7% 16% 12% 10% 15% 12% 21% Decrease 16 25 9 18 21 11 17 15 Stay about the same 63 60 66 63 62 64 63 58 DK/NA 8 8 8 7 7 10 8 6 32. Do you think racial profiling is a very serious problem in New Jersey, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious a problem, or not a problem at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very serious prob 25% 8% 35% 24% 21% 28% 18% 67% Smwht serious prob 39 39 43 38 36 43 42 21 Not too serious prob 23 30 17 24 25 21 25 7 Not a problem at all 10 19 4 12 17 5 11 5 DK/NA 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 - 33. Do you think crime is a very serious problem in New Jersey, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious a problem, or not a problem at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very serious prob 32% 27% 37% 30% 30% 34% 28% 64% Smwht serious prob 52 53 51 52 51 53 55 30 Not too serious prob 13 14 11 14 16 9 13 5 Not a problem at all 2 3 1 3 2 2 2 1 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 - 34. Do you think crime in urban areas is a very serious problem in New Jersey, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious a problem, or not a problem at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very serious prob 54% 52% 58% 51% 55% 53% 52% 66% Smwht serious prob 36 37 34 38 34 37 37 22 Not too serious prob 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 8 Not a problem at all 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 DK/NA 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 2 35. In general do you think it is a good idea or a bad idea for Governor Whitman to accompany police officers as they patrol urban areas in order to learn firsthand about the dangers police encounter in urban situations? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good idea 50% 53% 52% 46% 49% 50% 50% 36% Bad idea 46 43 47 49 46 47 47 57 DK/NA 4 4 2 5 5 3 3 7 36. In 1996, while accompanying police as they patrolled Camden, Governor Whitman frisked a black man who had been stopped by police. Do you think it was a good idea or a bad idea for Governor Whitman to have done this? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good idea 14% 21% 9% 14% 17% 11% 14% 12% Bad idea 78 71 84 78 76 80 78 83 DK/NA 8 8 7 9 7 9 8 6 37. How much have you heard or read about this incident? - A lot, some, only a little or nothing at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A lot 41% 42% 41% 42% 47% 34% 42% 37% Some 29 30 28 28 27 31 29 33 Only a little 16 17 16 16 15 18 16 16 Nothing at all 14 10 15 14 12 16 13 14 DK/NA 1 - 1 - - 1 - - 38. Do you think this incident will cause racial profiling in New Jersey to increase, decrease, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Increase 14% 6% 20% 12% 9% 18% 11% 31% Decrease 12 15 9 12 12 11 13 5 Stay the same 69 74 65 72 75 64 70 59 DK/NA 6 5 6 5 4 7 6 5 39. Do you think this incident will cause race relations in New Jersey to get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Better 5% 4% 5% 6% 5% 5% 4% 7% Worse 27 24 32 25 25 29 27 36 About the same 64 68 59 66 68 60 65 51 DK/NA 4 4 4 4 2 6 4 6 40. Some people have said that this incident will hurt Governor Whitman's chances for higher office such as Vice President or a Cabinet position. Do you agree or disagree? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Agree/Yes, will hurt 52% 48% 59% 50% 53% 51% 53% 53% Disagree/No, will not hurt 44 49 37 47 43 45 44 42 DK/NA 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 5
