November Sun, 1997
1997 GUBERNATORIAL RACE: WHITMAN HAS LEAD GOING INTO FINAL DAYS PERCENTAGE OF UNDECIDED VOTERS INCREASES TURNOUT IS CRITICAL FACTOR IN GOVERNOR’S RE-ELECTION
With just a few days left in the 1997 Gubernatorial campaign, there continues to be a large percentage of registered New Jersey voters who have not decided on a candidate for Governor. Therefore, there are opportunities for all three candidates to convince voters to select them on Election Day. Underscoring voter uncertainty, 16 percent report that in the past they have made up (8%) or changed (8%) their minds while they were in the voting both.
October Sun, 1997
RUTGERS FOOTBALL MAJORITY SAY IT CAN IMPROVE STATE IMAGE WANT “BIG TIME” FOOTBALL
Slightly more than half of New Jersey residents agree that having a successful Rutgers University football team can improve the image of the state of New Jersey. In addition, somewhat more than half of those who have followed Rutgers football this season want the team to continue with a “big time” college football program rather than changing to play in a lower football division. Overall, New Jerseyans are not sure about the support Rutgers is giving to the football team with close to 6-in-10 residents reporting they don’t know if Rutgers is spending the right amount of money on its football program.
October Mon, 1997
1997 GUBERNATORIAL RACE: ISSUES: AUTO INSURANCE, TAXES, EDUCATION CIVILITY OF CAMPAIGN
Auto insurance, taxes, and education are three issues being discussed in the New Jersey Gubernatorial Election. By a margin of 42 to 25 percent, more voters say Democratic challenger Jim McGreevey would do a better job at handling auto insurance than incumbent Governor Christie Whitman. On the issue of taxes, Whitman (39%) has a slight advantage over McGreevey (34%). The voters are about evenly divided on which candidate would do a better job improving education with 35 percent selecting McGreevey and 34 percent saying Whitman would be more successful handling this issue.
October Fri, 1997
1997 GUBERNATORIAL RACE: EQUAL SUPPORT FOR WHITMAN AND MCGREEVEY SHIFTS IN OPINIONS OF VOTERS WITH “SOFT” SUPPORT FOR CANDIDATES
As in past elections, the voters in New Jersey are likely to wait until closer to Election Day before they become firm in their choice for Governor. As the candidates move into a week where they will be competing in three debates, about half of the voters are firm in their choice for Governor while the other half is still in the process of making a decision. Among registered voters who say they will not change their minds before Election Day, Christie Whitman, the incumbent Republican Governor (25%) and Jim McGreevey, the Democratic challenger (22%) have about equal support. Libertarian candidate Murray Sabrin has firm support from 2 percent of the voters. Whitman (42%) and McGreevey (38%) also have about equal support when those who have selected a candidate but might change their mind before the election are included in the support for the candidates. Among this group of voters, Sabrin has 6 percent.