Survey of N.J. voters hits range of topics; Democrats don’t fare well either
GALLOWAY — Most New Jersey voters give the Trump administration poor marks so far and Democrats are frustrated with their party’s response, according to a poll released last week by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.
Voters also weighed in on federal spending.
Most New Jersey voters (54 percent) think the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 37 percent said things are on the right track.
A majority (52 percent) rated President Donald Trump’s job performance so far as poor, 8 percent gave it an average rating, 11 percent rated it as good, and 26 percent think he is doing an excellent job so far.
As for the economy, most New Jersey voters (62 percent) think it is getting worse, while 30 percent think it is getting better. One in five Republicans (21 percent), 59 percent of Independents, and the vast majority of Democrats (94 percent) are among those who have a negative outlook right now.
“The economy was the top priority for voters going into the November election, and Trump made it central to his campaign, so this pessimism eight weeks in is a big vulnerability for this administration,” said Hughes Center Head of Research Alyssa Maurice.
The poll of 702 New Jersey voters was released by the Hughes Center for Public Policy and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.
Approval ratings
The approval ratings of Donald Trump, J.D. Vance and Elon Musk are underwater by double digits in New Jersey. More than half of voters (55 percent) either strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump, while 44 percent approve at least somewhat.
Majorities also disapprove of J.D. Vance and Elon Musk (53 percent and 59 percent, respectively), while 39 percent approve of Vance and 37 percent approve of Musk.
Dissatisfied with
both parties
Majorities of voters overall are dissatisfied with both parties in Congress, but among their own voters congressional Democrats’ approval rating fared worse than Republicans’. Among Republicans, 83 percent at least somewhat approve of the way their party’s representatives are handling their jobs in Congress, and only 12 percent disapprove. In contrast, among Democrats, just over one-third (34 percent) approve of their party’s job performance in Congress, while a majority (63 percent) disapprove.
Top issues
Respondents were asked what they consider the top issue facing the country right now.
A plurality of 35 percent said the economy, inflation or cost of living. The next highest rate (13 percent) said authoritarianism or threats to democracy, followed by border security or restricting immigration, which was cited by 9 percent of voters as their top issue.
“Voters may not be pleased with this Republican administration, but Democrats may be in an even weaker position,” Maurice said. “Many of the people who cited concerns about the state of our democracy as their main issue also mentioned their frustration with the Democratic party’s response to these threats. We’re seeing that frustration borne out in the abysmal approval ratings for congressional Democrats from their own voters.”
Federal spending
A majority of voters (51 percent) support the recent efforts to reduce federal spending, at least somewhat. But fewer (45 percent) support cutting staff who work for the federal government and an even lower rate (36 percent) support the methods by which the current administration is cutting jobs. Majorities oppose cutting federal staff (51 percent) and how the administration has done so (60 percent).
Despite majority support for reducing federal spending, when respondents were asked whether funding should increase, decrease or remain the same for the largest expenditures, voters actually wanted to spend more on most categories.
Majorities wanted to increase spending on Medicare (51 percent), Social Security (51 percent), veterans benefits and services (69 percent) and education (56 percent). A plurality of 42 percent wanted to keep spending the same for Medicaid.
When it comes to national defense, voters were split evenly on whether to increase spending (38 percent) or keep it stable (38 percent). The only expenditure for which a plurality of voters (48 percent) wanted to decrease spending was foreign aid.
Nearly 1 in 5 New Jersey voters (19 percent) have been impacted personally by recent spending cuts, while 70 percent said they have not been affected.
Other items on
the Trump agenda
The poll also asked for New Jersey voters’ stance on other aspects of Trump’s agenda.
A majority of voters (53 percent) said transgender athletes in K-12 schools should compete in sports according to their sex at birth, aligning with the current administration (36 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Independents). One in 5 voters overall (21 percent) said they should compete according to their gender identity (37 percent of Democrats, 8 percent of Republicans and 15 percent of Independents), and 10 percent said they should be banned from competing in sports altogether (5 percent of Democrats, 21 percent of Republicans, and 5 percent of Independents).
A majority (56 percent) think practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion are a good thing for the most part (86 percent of Democrats, 28 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of Independents). One third of voters think these practices are a bad thing overall (9 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of Independents).
Two-thirds of voters think the United States should play an active role in world affairs, while 22 percent said it would be better for the country to stay out of these matters. Majorities of all party affiliations and demographics agree that the U.S. should play an active role.
A majority of voters (57 percent) think the Unites States’ alliances with other countries around the world are mutually beneficial and about one fourth (24 percent) share Trump’s position that allies benefit more from these arrangements than the U.S. A minority of only 13 percent think the U.S. benefits more from international alliances.
Most voters oppose (70 percent) the idea of the United States taking over new territories like Greenland and Canada and 23 percent support the proposal. Majorities of Democrats (93 percent) and Independents (71 percent) oppose this, while a plurality of Republicans (47 percent) are supportive.
Methodology
The poll of New Jersey registered voters was sponsored and conducted
by the Stockton Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. Data collection took place from March 18-22, 2025. A total of 702 New Jersey voters were interviewed. Overall, 93 percent of interviews were conducted on cell phones and 7 percent on landline phones. In terms of mode, 57 percent were reached via dialing with the survey administered by a live interviewer and 43 percent were reached via text-to-web.