Just 13 percent of Garden State residents say they're satisfied with the way things are going in Washington.
President Obama at the White House Tuesday. A new poll released this morning finds New Jerseyans are down on Washington, as the president's approval rating dropped eight points.TRENTON — New Jerseyans are down on Washington, according to a poll released this morning by Monmouth University/New Jersey Press Media.
President Obama, who got a significant boost in the polls after authorizing the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May, has seen his approval rating fall 8 points among New Jersey registered voters since then, to 52 percent. Thirty-nine percent disapprove.
New Jerseyans are split on Obama’s handling of the debt ceiling negotiations worse, with 41 percent of adult residents approving and 42 percent disapproving. They strongly disapprove of Congressional Republicans – 19 percent approve to 62 percent disapprove. Congressional Democrats do a little better but are still seen negatively, with 27 percent approving and 52 percent disapproving.
Overall, just 13 percent of residents say they’re satisfied with the way things are going in Washington.
“New Jerseyans tend to be cynical about government at all levels, but the debt ceiling fight really seems to have established a new low in opinion of Washington,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
New Jersey’s congressional representatives also suffered drops in the polls. Voters approve of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) who’s up for reelection next year, a 38 percent to 33 percent – down eight points from May but in line with his rating from a year ago. U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who does not face reelection until 2014, has a 41 percent to 32 percent approval rating among registered voters – his lowest in three years of Monmouth University/New Jersey Press Media polls.
The pollster surveyed 802 adult residents, with a margin of error of 3.5 percent. The sample side for registered voters was slightly smaller, at 730, with a margin of error of 3.8 percent. The poll was conducted from August 3 to August 8.
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