{"id":40802235960,"date":"2013-11-05T18:02:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T23:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/2013\/11\/05\/2013-new-jersey-exit-poll-results\/"},"modified":"2021-11-01T09:40:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T13:40:48","slug":"2013-new-jersey-exit-poll-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/2013\/11\/05\/2013-new-jersey-exit-poll-results\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 New Jersey Exit Poll Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please check back here throughout Election Night for updates on exit poll results from the 2013 New Jersey Governor election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These polls stories were previously broadcast on NJTV.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey exit poll was conducted for the National Election Pool (ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC) by Edison Research.<\/p>\n

*******************************<\/p>\n

Updated 11:09 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

CHRISTIE 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, the 2013 New Jersey Governor\u2019s race is in the books.\u00a0 Take a deep breath.\u00a0 The 2016 race for the White House starts \u2026\u00a0 now!<\/p>\n

How do the voters who gave Christie a landslide re-election victory view him as presidential material.\u00a0 Well, not quite as much as they like him in the State House.\u00a0 A bare majority of 51% say that their governor would make a good president.\u00a0 Among Christie voters today, that number stands at 79%.\u00a0 In fact, 16% of the voters who supported him today said that they don\u2019t see him as a good fit for the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

In fact, if Christie winds up facing Hillary Clinton in a 2016 all-star match-up he would lose his home state by 4 points \u2013 48% for Clinton to 44% for Christie.\u00a0 That result is from the same voters who just gave him an overwhelming victory tonight.<\/p>\n

One of the problems facing Christie is that the popularity of his personal brand is overshadowed by negative views of the Republican party on the national stage.\u00a0 Just 4-in-10 (38%) of New Jersey voters hold a favorable view of the GOP.\u00a0 This is significantly less than the majority of 51% who hold a favorable view of the Democratic party.<\/p>\n

The Tea Party proves to be a particular drag on the Republican brand in New Jersey.\u00a0 Just 1-in-5 voters (18%) support the Tea Party movement, 35% are neutral, and nearly half of Garden State voters (45%) hold a negative view.<\/p>\n

Even among New Jersey Republicans, just 3-in-10 (31%) say they support the Tea Party.\u00a0 Another 52% are neutral and 15% are opposed.\u00a0\u00a0 The question is whether Christie has the support to appeal to Republicans in other states.\u00a0 Exit polls from the 2012 caucuses and primaries showed that 64% of GOP voters in Iowa supported the Tea Party as did 51% of New Hampshire Republicans.\u00a0 That\u2019s a much different Republican Party than the one Christie leads in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

*******************************<\/p>\n

Updated 11:01 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

ISSUES THAT MATTERED TO NEW JERSEY VOTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

What were New Jersey voters thinking about as they went to the polls today?\u00a0 Of the four issues asked about in the exit poll, the economy was considered the most pressing concern.\u00a0 Nearly half (49%) of Garden State voters say the economy is the most important issue in their vote for governor today.\u00a0 Taxes come in second at 22% and education in third at 15%.\u00a0 Only 6% of New Jersey voters said that same-sex marriage was the main issue driving their vote decision.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take a look at the issues on the top and bottom of that list.\u00a0 First, the economy.\u00a0 New Jersey voters gave Gov. Christie a big vote of confidence on that issue despite Sen. Buono\u2019s charge that the state\u2019s recovery lags behind the rest of the region.\u00a0 Nearly 2-in-3 voters (64%) approve of Christie\u2019s handling of the economy.\u00a0 Only 35% disapprove.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s veto of same-sex marriage legislation is another issue highlighted by Buono in the hope of gaining traction on the incumbent.\u00a0 Public opinion seemed to be on her side.\u00a0 Fully 6-in-10 New Jersey voters (60%) support legalizing same-sex marriage.\u00a0 Only 36% oppose it.<\/p>\n

Buono performs well among same sex marriage supporters, pulling in 49% of this group\u2019s vote today.\u00a0 However, 49% still voted for Christie despite his veto of the legislation.<\/p>\n

The recent New Jersey court decision to permit same sex marriage may have undercut the challenger\u2019s ability to make this more of an issue, but pre-election polls suggested it was never going to be an issue that would motivate large swaths of voters.<\/p>\n

The exit poll confirms that it was the economy rather than same sex marriage that ruled the day.<\/p>\n

*******************************<\/p>\n

Updated 11:00 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

HOW CHRISTIE WON<\/strong><\/p>\n

This campaign was certainly a study in contrasts.<\/p>\n

So what did voters think of the two candidates?\u00a0 Fully 64% of voters who went to the polls today have a favorable opinion of Gov. Chris Christie.\u00a0 Just 42% have a favorable opinion of Sen. Barbara Buono.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth noting that the pre-election polls found 4-in-10 voters said they never learned enough about the challenger to form an opinion of her.<\/p>\n

The big question tonight is how the Republican was able to claim such a resounding victory in a Democratic leaning state.\u00a0 Obviously, he was going to do well among more conservative voters.\u00a0 He won 93% of his fellow Republicans, 70% of the white vote and 66% of seniors. He also won the all-important independent vote by a significant 66% to 32% margin.<\/p>\n

Christie also performed well among traditionally Democratic groups.\u00a0 He won a majority of women (57%) and Latino voters (51%).\u00a0 He won nearly half of voter in union households (46%) and among young voters under the age of 30 (49%). He even got 21% of the African-American vote, which is a good showing for a Republican.\u00a0 Support for Christie among these groups improved by 8 to 19 points over his showing in 2009.<\/p>\n

This broad swath of support might have been unthinkable a year ago. \u00a0All that changed over a year ago when Superstorm Sandy reshaped the entire political landscape. More than 8 in 10 voters approve of how the governor handled the storm\u2019s aftermath.\u00a0 That number includes nearly half of all voters (48%) who strongly approve of his post-Sandy efforts and another 37% who approve somewhat.<\/p>\n

One-in-four voters (23%) today told us that Sandy created a severe hardship for them.\u00a0 There have been some rumblings that these hardest-hit New Jerseyans have not been happy with the pace of recovery.\u00a0 This group supported Christie by a 57% to 41% margin.\u00a0 This is a decisive win, but smaller than the margin he earned among New Jersey voters who were not significantly impacted by the storm.<\/p>\n

*******************************<\/p>\n

Updated 10:48 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

ISSUES:\u00a0 NEW JERSEY AND NATIONAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The actual polls are still open, but the exit polls are already giving us a clue to what New Jersey voters are thinking.<\/p>\n

Of the four issues asked about in the exit poll, the economy was considered the most pressing concern.\u00a0 Nearly half (49%) of Garden State voters say the economy is the most important issue in their vote for governor today.\u00a0 Taxes come in second at 22% and education in third at 15%.\u00a0 Only 6% of New Jersey voters said that same-sex marriage was the main issue driving their vote decision.<\/p>\n

With the economy being the top concern, there has been some debate in this race on the pace of New Jersey\u2019s recovery.\u00a0 But the economy is as much of a national issue as it is a state issue.\u00a0 The national climate always looms large over New Jersey gubernatorial elections since they occur the year after presidential contests.\u00a0 Many pundits try to read the tea leaves of New Jersey\u2019s results as an indicator of the national political mood.<\/p>\n

President Barack Obama won New Jersey last year by 17 points in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.\u00a0 He remains more popular in the Garden State than he is nationally, but not as popular as he was just one year ago. Voters are split \u2013 51% approve of his job performance compared to 49% who disapprove.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s hallmark policy, the Affordable Care Act, has received a great deal of criticism with its roll-out last month.\u00a0 New Jersey voters are also divided on their opinion of the new health care law – 48% support to 50% oppose.<\/p>\n

However, Obama comes out on top when New Jerseyans look at the political struggles in Washington.\u00a0 More voters blame the Republicans in Congress (56%) than the president (39%) for the recent federal government shutdown.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that New Jersey remains friendlier to Obama than it is toward the Republican brand.\u00a0 We will see how that translates into support for the president\u2019s bipartisan post-Sandy B.F.F. when the votes start rolling in at 8:00 tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please check back here throughout Election Night for updates on exit poll results from the 2013 New Jersey Governor election. These polls stories were previously broadcast on NJTV. The New Jersey exit poll was conducted for the National Election Pool (ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC) by Edison Research. ******************************* Updated 11:09 p.m. CHRISTIE 2016 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":939,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40802235960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40802235960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40802235960"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40802235960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40802250485,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40802235960\/revisions\/40802250485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40802235960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40802235960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/polling-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40802235960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}