New poll on how New Jersey feels about Trump, direction of country

Donald Trump fared unusually well for a Republican in "Blue Jersey" during the 2024 election, but a new Stockton University poll shows Garden Staters aren't sold on his performance in office so far.

The poll, released the school's William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy on Wednesday, showed majorities of New Jerseyans think Trump is doing a poor job as president (52%) and the country is on the wrong track (54%).

Higher shares of Democrats and independents gave negative responses to these questions (and virtually all of them in the poll) than Republicans.

Perhaps no question demonstrates that disparity better than how New Jersey voters felt the economy was faring. About 62% said it was getting worse, but among Democrats, that number was 94% compared to just 21% of Republicans. Among independents, 59% said the economy was worsening.

“The economy was the top priority for voters going into the November election, and Trump made it central to his campaign, so this pessimism eight weeks in is a big vulnerability for this administration,” Hughes Center Head of Research Alyssa Maurice said.

A majority of polled voters also said they disapprove of top GOP leaders, including Trump (55%), and Vice President JD Vance (53%) and DOGE head Elon Musk (59%).

The poll asked many questions about the administration's efforts to reduce costs. About 51% of New Jersey voters slightly favor some efforts to cut federal spending, though the majority of voters are opposed to how the administration is slashing expenditures.

Solid majorities of voters wanted to increase funding for big-ticket government programs like entitlements, veterans' benefits, and education.

The one area voters wanted to see spending decrease was foreign aid (a 48% plurality).

Also, the poll found 56% of New Jersey voters though diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts were mostly good, but a majority of New Jersey voters (53%) agreed with the Trump administration's view that transgender athletes in K-12 sports should compete in sports according to their sex at birth (36% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans, and 62% of independents).

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom