December 6, 2000 - McGreevey, Franks Early Leaders In New Jersey Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Whitman Has Highest Approval In Four Years Woodbridge Mayor James McGreevey and U.S. Rep. Bob Franks are running neck and neck as the 2001 New Jersey governor's race begins, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. A test of possible match-ups in the governors race shows: -McGreevey gets 38 percent to Franks' 35 percent, with 24 percent undecided; -McGreevey tops Senate Majority Leader Donald DiFrancesco 41 - 26 percent, with 30 percent undecided; McGreevey leads Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler 40 - 24 percent, with 31 percent undecided. In a Republican gubernatorial primary, Franks gets 45 percent, with 10 percent for DiFrancesco and 9 percent for Schundler and 33 percent undecided. From November 28 - December 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,261 New Jersey registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent. The survey included 372 registered Republicans with a margin of error of 5.1 percent. "The early -- very early -- line is McGreevey-Franks. Let's see how 2001 shakes out and whether this is just a generic Democratic vote for Mayor McGreevey and a left-over vote for Rep. Franks who ran a close race for U.S. Senate last month," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Franks, the best-known candidate in the field today, handily leads `undecided' in a Republican primary, and whomps the unknown other guys, Mayor Schundler and Sen. DiFrancesco," Carroll added. Gov. Christine Todd Whitman has a 61 - 30 percent approval rating, her highest since a 62 - 32 percent approval in a February 18, 1997, poll by the independent Quinnipiac University. By a 32 - 12 percent margin all New Jersey voters have a favorable opinion of Franks, with 15 percent mixed and 38 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion. Favorability ratings for other possible candidates are: Favorable Unfavorable Mixed No Opinion McGreevey 20% 11% 12% 54% Schundler 10 4 5 79 DiFrancesco 13 5 7 73 "How soon New Jersey voters forget: James McGreevey ran for governor and came within a whisker of winning, but half the state's voters tell the Quinnipiac University poll they don't know much about him," Carroll said. "New Jersey voters are feeling better about their Governor these days. And 60 percent say it would be a good idea if President Bush, if there is a President Bush, offers her a job in his administration. Another 30 percent don't think Bush should offer Whitman a federal job." 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 Approve 61% 75% 47% 62% 60% 62% Disapprove 30 18 43 28 32 27 DK/NA 9 7 10 10 8 11 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 65% 34% 94% 63% 58% 70% Disapprove 33 63 5 34 40 26 DK/NA 3 3 1 3 2 3 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Torricelli is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 43% 37% 53% 41% 42% 45% Disapprove 24 32 15 26 30 18 DK/NA 33 31 32 33 28 38 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 52% 38% 64% 55% 48% 57% Disapprove 20 36 9 19 26 15 DK/NA 27 26 27 26 26 28 5. Is your opinion of Jon Corzine favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 25% 12% 43% 22% 19% 31% Unfavorable 25 48 5 26 35 17 Mixed 24 20 25 26 22 26 Hvn't hrd enough 24 18 25 24 22 25 REFUSED 2 2 1 2 2 2 6. Is your opinion of George W. Bush favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 39% 82% 7% 35% 47% 32% Unfavorable 40 5 75 37 32 47 Mixed 19 12 15 26 18 19 Hvn't hrd enough 2 - 3 2 3 1 REFUSED - - - 1 - - 7. Is your opinion of Al Gore favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 40% 7% 76% 35% 32% 47% Unfavorable 41 80 5 42 50 33 Mixed 18 12 18 23 16 19 Hvn't hrd enough 1 1 1 - 1 - REFUSED 1 1 - 1 1 - 8. Is your opinion of James McGreevey favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 20% 18% 27% 17% 22% 19% Unfavorable 11 12 11 12 15 8 Mixed 12 13 11 14 12 12 Hvn't hrd enough 54 53 51 56 48 59 REFUSED 2 4 1 1 2 2 9. Is your opinion of Bret Schundler favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 10% 16% 7% 8% 12% 8% Unfavorable 4 2 7 4 6 3 Mixed 5 3 7 5 6 5 Hvn't hrd enough 79 76 78 82 75 83 REFUSED 2 3 1 1 3 1 10. Is your opinion of Donald DiFrancesco favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 13% 18% 7% 15% 16% 10% Unfavorable 5 2 8 5 6 5 Mixed 7 8 5 9 9 6 Hvn't hrd enough 73 71 79 70 69 77 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 2 11. Is your opinion of Bob Franks favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favorable 32% 51% 15% 35% 41% 25% Unfavorable 12 3 22 12 11 13 Mixed 15 15 16 15 14 17 Hvn't hrd enough 38 30 46 37 32 43 REFUSED 2 2 1 2 2 2 12. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were James McGreevey the Democrat and Donald DiFrancesco the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom McGreevey 41% 12% 78% 34% 39% 44% DiFrancesco 26 60 2 22 31 21 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 2 DK/NA 30 26 18 38 26 32 13. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were James McGreevey the Democrat and Bob Franks the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom McGreevey 38% 9% 76% 29% 33% 41% Franks 35 71 7 34 44 27 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 - 3 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 1 3 2 2 DK/NA 24 17 17 31 20 28 14. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were James McGreevey the Democrat and Bret Schundler the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom McGreevey 40% 11% 78% 33% 37% 44% Schundler 24 56 4 17 30 18 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 2 1 3 2 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 3 1 5 3 3 DK/NA 31 28 17 42 28 33 15. Suppose Governor Whitman is appointed to a top level position in a Bush administration. Do you think that Bush would be making a good choice or not a good choice? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Good choice 60% 71% 48% 61% 57% 62% Not a good choice 30 22 42 26 31 28 DK/NA 11 7 10 13 12 10 16. (If Registered Republican) If the Republican primary for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Bob Franks, Donald DiFrancesco, and Bret Schundler for whom would you vote? Registered Republican Total Franks 45% DiFrancesco 10 Schundler 9 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 DK/NA 33
