New Jersey (NJ) Poll * January 29, 2003 * New Jersey Satisfaction Rate A - Quinnipiac University

Home> Institutes and Centers> Quinnipiac University Polling Institute> New Jersey (NJ)> Release Detail

January 29, 2003 - New Jersey Satisfaction Rate At Lowest Point Ever, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; McGreevey Approval Rating In Doldrums

For the first time in more than six years, most New Jersey voters are dissatisfied with life in the Garden State, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Only 3 percent of voters say they are "very satisfied" with the way things are going in New Jersey today, while 42 percent are "somewhat satisfied;" 33 percent are "somewhat dissatisfied," and 20 percent are "very dissatisfied."
This is the lowest satisfaction rate since the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University began polling New Jersey voters in 1996.
Satisfaction ranges from 53 percent of urban voters who are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" to only 38 percent of shore voters who are satisfied.
Gov. James McGreevey's 40 - 41 percent approval rating mirrors the malaise in New Jersey and across the U.S. It is a slight improvement from his negative 37 - 42 percent approval in a December 11, 2002, Quinnipiac University poll.
"For the first time in six years of polling, a majority of New Jersey voters are not satisfied with the way things are going in their state. They are not only unhappy with Gov. McGreevey, whose approval ratings are stagnating in negative territory, they are particularly fed up with high taxes and auto insurance rates," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"But the problem is bigger than Gov. McGreevey and the major issues he is grappling with in the state. President Bush's approval rating dropped to its lowest level since before the World Trade Center attacks, a sign that the threat of war and the slumping economy are also taking their toll on New Jersey voters," Richards added.
President Bush's 54 - 42 percent approval is down from 58 - 36 in the December 11 poll, continuing a downward trend from his 90-percent high after September 11, 2001.
In an open-ended question, where voters can give any answer, 20 percent list auto insurance as the most important problem in New Jersey, while another 19 percent list taxes. Education and unemployment/jobs each get 8 percent.
Voters give McGreevey negative scores including:
20 - 69 percent for his handling of auto insurance; 35 - 49 percent for his handling of the state budget; 27 - 61 percent for his handling of taxes; 33 - 55 percent for his handling of the economy and jobs.
From January 22 - 27, Quinnipiac University surveyed 929 New Jersey registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and nationally as a public service and for research.
For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu and quicklinks or call (203)
582-5201.
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling his job as Governor of New Jersey?
App Dis DK/NA January 29, 2003 40% 41% 18% December 11, 2002 37 42 21 September 12, 2002 41 36 23 August 8, 2002 42 34 25 June 20, 2002 43 30 27 April 24, 2002 40 32 28 March 7, 2002 46 22 32 January 31, 2002 42 19 39
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Jon Corzine is handling his job as United States Senator?
App Dis DK/NA January 29 2003 47% 23% 30% December 11,2002 47 22 30 September 12,2002 47 19 33 August 8, 2002 49 19 31 June 19,2002 46 18 36 April 24, 2002 48 20 32 March 6, 2002 51 20 29 January 30, 2002 51 15 33 October 18, 2001 51 19 29 August 7, 2001 50 21 29 July 5, 2001 48 22 30 May 14, 2001 49 20 31 April 11, 2001 46 21 33 March 8, 2001 43 21 36 February 8, 2001 35 18 47
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator? * Previous term
App Dis DK/NA January 29, 2003 42% 27% 32% December 6, 2000* 52 20 27 August 24, 2000 51 21 28 July 27, 2000 55 22 23 March 29, 2000 53 22 25 February 23, 2000 52 23 25 September 23, 1999 55 25 20 July 22, 1999 55 25 20 March 31, 1999 54 25 21 February 12, 1999 52 29 19 November 12, 1998 52 26 22 August 10, 1998 50 24 26 April 23, 1998 51 25 23 March 4, 1998 52 23 25 October 22, 1997 51 26 23 September 16, 1997 53 26 22 July 29, 1997 50 25 26 April 10, 1997 52 25 23 February 8, 1996 43 32 26
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?
App Dis DK/NA January 29 2003 54% 42% 4% December 11,2002 58 36 5 September 12,2002 64 30 6 August 8, 2002 61 32 7 June 19,2002 73 21 7 April 24, 2002 77 18 5 March 7, 2002 77 18 5 January 30, 2002 82 13 6 October 18, 2001 90 7 3 September 26, 2001 88 8 5 August 7, 2001 52 42 6 July 5, 2001 53 42 5 May 14, 2001 57 35 7 April 11, 2001 57 34 9 March 8, 2001 62 26 12 February 8, 2001 51 28 21
TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?
Very Smwht Smwht Very sat sat dis dis DK/NA January 29, 2003 3% 42% 33% 20% 1 December 11, 2002 4 47 31 17 1 June 20, 2002 5 48 31 15 1 March 7, 2002 4 50 30 14 2 December 26, 2000 10 61 21 7 1 February 12, 1999 11 60 21 7 - October 22, 1997 8 53 26 12 1 September 16, 1997 9 48 27 15 - June 25, 1997 9 50 28 13 1 April 10, 1997 7 52 29 11 1 February 20, 1997 11 56 23 10 1 December 11, 1996 8 49 31 12 1
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling his job as Governor?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 40% 22% 56% 40% 40% 41% 40% Disapprove 41 64 27 39 45 39 47 DK/NA 18 14 17 21 16 20 12 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 46% 51% 33% 37% 27% Disapprove 32 36 49 41 52 DK/NA 22 13 17 21 21
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Jon Corzine is handling his job as United States Senator?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 47% 33% 59% 48% 47% 47% 45% Disapprove 23 39 14 22 28 19 25 DK/NA 30 29 27 30 25 33 30 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 54% 49% 41% 45% 46% Disapprove 20 25 29 19 24 DK/NA 27 27 30 36 30
3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 42% 22% 59% 41% 39% 44% 38% Disapprove 27 48 11 27 34 20 28 DK/NA 32 30 29 32 27 36 33 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 56% 41% 34% 40% 38% Disapprove 19 29 34 23 26 DK/NA 25 30 32 37 35
4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 54% 86% 26% 55% 57% 51% 58% Disapprove 42 13 68 41 39 45 39 DK/NA 4 1 7 3 4 5 3 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 48% 55% 63% 44% 57% Disapprove 47 40 36 50 37 DK/NA 5 4 1 6 5
7. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Very satisfied 3% 3% 4% 2% 3% 4% 2% Smwht satisfied 42 34 49 41 40 44 44 Smwht dissatisfied 33 38 29 37 35 31 31 Very dissatisfied 20 24 17 19 21 20 22 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1 - Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very satisfied 8% 3% 1% 2% 3% Smwht satisfied 45 45 44 41 35 Smwht dissatisfied 28 34 37 34 33 Very dissatisfied 18 17 17 24 27 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1
8. What do you think is the most important problem facing New Jersey today?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Crime total 3% 1% 4% 3% 1% 4% 1% Crime/Violence general 2 1 2 3 1 3 - Drugs 1 - 2 - - 1 1 Budget/Spending total 5% 4% 3% 6% 5% 4% 6% Budget/Spend general 3 2 2 4 3 3 3 Budget deficits 2 2 1 2 2 1 3 Economy total 14% 10% 17% 17% 17% 14% 21% Economy general 5 4 5 7 7 4 8 Unemployment/jobs 8 6 10 8 8 9 11 Cost of living 1 - 2 2 2 1 2 Education total 8% 9% 9% 4% 4% 9% 8% Education general 5 6 6 3 2 7 4 Funding education 2 2 2 1 2 1 3 Education other 1 1 1 - - 1 1 Housing total 4% 2% 3% 4% 3% 4% 2% Availability 1 - - 1 - 1 - Overcrowding 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 Taxes total 19% 26% 19% 14% 21% 18% 23% Taxes general 9 13 7 7 9 9 9 Property tax 9 11 10 7 11 8 13 Taxes other 1 2 2 - 1 1 1 Trans total 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2% - Traffic congestion 1 1 - 1 - 1 - Transportation other 1 - 1 1 1 1 - Politicians/ Campaigns total 2% 6% - 2% 4% 2% 2% Politicians/ Campaigns general 1 3 - 1 2 1 1 Campaigns other 1 3 - 1 2 1 1 Poverty/Homelessness 1 - 2 1 1 1 - Children's issues 2 2 3 1 1 3 1 Healthcare/Costs/ Insurance/HMO's 3 5 2 2 4 3 2 Senior issues general 1 - - 1 - 1 - Envmnt/Pollution 2 1 3 3 2 3 1 Open space/Urban Sprawl 3 2 3 4 3 3 2 Auto insurance 20 20 17 23 21 19 21 Other 2 1 1 3 2 1 2 DK/NA 5 4 4 6 5 5 1
9. Using an A, B, C, D and F grading scale like they do in school, how would you grade the job James McGreevey has done in his first year as governor?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld A 3% 3% 4% 1% 4% 3% 1% B 26 14 35 28 23 29 22 C 39 40 42 37 36 42 41 D 17 23 12 18 20 14 19 F 10 18 4 10 12 8 11 DK/NA 5 4 4 6 6 4 6 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore A 6% 4% 0% 2% 3% B 26 30 27 24 21 C 44 40 37 38 37 D 10 15 14 23 22 F 10 7 15 8 13 DK/NA 4 5 7 6 4
10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling -- the state budget?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 35% 22% 44% 37% 36% 34% 33% Disapprove 49 63 43 47 51 47 51 DK/NA 16 16 13 17 13 19 16 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 40% 38% 31% 34% 29% Disapprove 44 47 56 53 48 DK/NA 17 16 13 13 23
11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling education?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 49% 35% 60% 48% 48% 50% 44% Disapprove 33 46 27 30 35 31 36 DK/NA 18 18 13 22 17 19 19 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 55% 50% 46% 51% 43% Disapprove 31 29 38 33 35 DK/NA 14 20 16 16 22
12a. (Split sample A) Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling taxes?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 27% 15% 38% 32% 28% 27% 29% Disapprove 61 75 50 59 65 57 57 DK/NA 11 10 12 9 7 16 14 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 31% 29% 16% 31% 31% Disapprove 52 65 65 66 54 DK/NA 17 6 19 4 16
12b. (Split sample B) Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling property taxes?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 21% 12% 22% 26% 22% 20% 13% Disapprove 66 77 63 61 68 64 73 DK/NA 13 11 14 13 10 16 14 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 20% 18% 20% 23% 23% Disapprove 64 67 73 64 64 DK/NA 16 15 7 13 13
13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling the economy and jobs?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 33% 25% 42% 33% 33% 33% 32% Disapprove 55 65 46 54 55 55 57 DK/NA 13 9 12 13 12 13 12 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 39% 36% 29% 28% 30% Disapprove 51 52 52 62 57 DK/NA 10 12 19 10 13
14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way James McGreevey is handling car insurance?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Approve 20% 16% 26% 18% 20% 19% 14% Disapprove 69 72 61 73 72 66 77 DK/NA 12 11 13 10 8 15 10 Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 32% 20% 14% 15% 18% Disapprove 56 67 73 73 75 DK/NA 12 13 13 12 8
22. Last year, there was controversy surrounding Governor McGreevey's use of state funds to pay for personal expenses on a trip to Ireland and for his use of a state helicopter. Is this controversy a major concern to you, a minor concern, or not a concern at all to you?
Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HouseHld Major concern 41% 52% 32% 44% 40% 42% 47% Minor concern 40 30 43 41 37 42 37 Not a concern at all 18 16 24 14 22 15 17 DK/NA 1 2 1 - 1 1 - Philly Urban SubUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Major concern 36% 40% 43% 47% 41% Minor concern 35 40 41 41 40 Not a concern at all 28 19 16 11 18 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 2