May 31, 2016
A new Monmouth University Poll finds that Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton holds a lead among New Jersey voters, who likely won't be endeared to Donald Trump by the presence of Gov. Chris Christie on the Republican ticket.
The poll, published Tuesday, found that more than four out of ten New Jersey respondents (42 percent) said they would be less likely to vote for Trump if Christie became his vice presidential nominee. A mere 8 percent said that they would favor Trump if Christie were his choice, while 48 percent said Christie's influence would have no impact on their votes.
“Trump claims he can turn New Jersey competitive in November. These results suggest he probably needs to look elsewhere for a running mate if he wants to make that a reality,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Statewide, the poll found that Hillary Clinton held 38 percent of voters compared to Trump's 34 percent. Another 15 percent said they remain undecided and 11 percent said they would vote for a third-party candidate, such as Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
“Blue Jersey doesn’t appear quite so blue at this stage of the campaign, but we should keep in mind that neither major party candidate has fully locked in the support of their partisan bases. When and if that happens, the benefit should accrue more to Clinton than to Trump simply because Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state,” Murray said.
Voters also said that if Hillary Clinton were to add U.S. Senator Cory Booker to her ticket — an unlikely possibility after recent comments from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid — it wouldn't help her much. Sixty-seven percent said Booker wouldn't influence their choice either way, while 18 percent said his selection would boost Clinton's appeal and 11 percent said it would hurt her.
The poll was conducted using a statewide random sample of 806 adult residents, with a maximum margin of error at plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
