McGreevy Leads Schundler By 19 Points

NEWARK, N.J.: August 27, 2001 — A week before Labor Day – the traditional start of the intense campaign season – Republican Bret Schundler has his work cut out for him if he wants to become governor. According to a poll released Sunday, he`s trailing Democrat Jim McGreevey by 19 percentage points.

The results of the Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers Poll were nearly identical to those of a Gannett New Jersey poll earlier this month. McGreevey had a 49-30 lead with 19 percent of respondents undecided.

State Sen. William Schluter, R-Mercer, is running as an independent. But he did not appear to be making a dent in the race.

When respondents were asked about a race including him, McGreevey led Schundler 48-29 and Schluter had support of 4 percent of the voters.

Schluter has yet to raise $260,000 that would qualify him to participate in two state-sponsored debates. If he manages to do that, analysts expect he`ll become more of a factor, and he would hurt Schundler more than McGreevey.

Among the two major party candidates, Schundler, the former mayor of Jersey City, is more controversial. According to the poll, he was perceived favorably by 38 percent of voters and unfavorably by 23 percent.

McGreevey, the mayor of Woodbridge, was viewed favorably by 58 percent of respondents and unfavorably by 13 percent. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans said they felt good about him, compared with 23 percent who did not.

Schundler was not as appealing to members of the opposition party. Only 13 percent of Democrats gave him favorable ratings; three times as many rated him unfavorably.

Most of the electorate in the state is not affiliated with either party. Among those independents, McGreevey had more support, leading Schundler 50-18, with the rest undecided. Women and Democrats were more likely to support McGreevey.

Fewer than one in five voters said they are following the race very closely. Schundler`s campaign believes that benefits him. "I have a better candidate with a better message," Schundler campaign manager Bill Pascoe told the Star-Ledger of Newark. "And when we reach out to voters in a major way after Labor Day, you will see the numbers move."

The McGreevey campaign said the numbers won`t change. "The public is coming to see that his hard-edged positions are outside the mainstream," said McGreevey spokesman Richard McGrath.

The poll used telephone interviews of 395 randomly selected residents deemed likely voters Aug. 15-21. The margin of error was plus or minus five percentage points.

Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News