About that New Jersey Governors Poll

There is a new poll out in the gubernatorial race in New Jersey, which at first glance looks like good news for Jon Corzine. Taken in conjunction with the poll out last week from Democracy Corps/Global Research Group, the new Neighborhood Research poll makes it seem as if Chris Christie's campaign is wilting in the late summer sun. Let's compare the numbers.

New Jersey Gubernatorial Polls (Late August 2009)
Poll	Date	Corzine	Christie	Daggett	Undecided
Neighborhood Research	Aug. 12-21, 2009	37	35	6	--
Democracy Corps [pdf]	Aug. 11-12, 2009	35	40	10	15

Looks pretty similar, right?

It does, but those Neighborhood numbers are among likely voters. The 319 likely voter sample is pared down even further to include undefined "definite" voters . [Christie led among that group 39-36 over Corzine with Chris Daggett pulling in 6%.] I don't know what a definite voter is, but I do know that 319 is definitely pushing the lower end of the acceptable bounds for a statewide sample and that anything lower than that is questionable from a representativeness standpoint.

Add to that the fact that Neighborhood Research is run by conservative strategist and former-Lonegan campaign manager, Rick Shaftan and the intrigue rises. Now, Steve Lonegan was Chris Christie's main opponent in the Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this year. Look, I'm not saying this poll is anything but legitimate, but that is two strikes against it; one on statistical grounds and the other falls in the "guilt by association" category. And I don't think either one is helping the other.

So, please excuse FHQ if we're a touch hesitant about including this poll in our average for the New Jersey gubernatorial race.


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