| A new Monmouth University poll of likely NJ primary voters conducted January 9-13 (MoE +/-4.5%) shows Barack Obama closing the gap between himself and frontrunner Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, the poll shows John McCain now narrowly leading Rudy 9iu11iani 29%-25%, a huge shift from October when the New York mayor led 44%-12%.
Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll (Jan 9-13, Likely voters, MoE +/-4.5%) (trend: Oct 07, Apr 07 in parenthesis)
Clinton: 42% (42%, 41%)
Obama: 30% (23%, 22%)
Edwards: 9% (7%, 13%)
Don't Know: 17% (21%, 18%) Among likely Democratic primary voters in New Jersey, Hillary Clinton currently claims support from 42% of voters, compared to 30% for Barack Obama, 9% for John Edwards, and 2% for Dennis Kucinich. Another 17% remain undecided. Support levels for Clinton, Edwards and Kucinich are nearly identical to what they registered in the October 2007 poll. However, Obama's support has increased by 7 percentage points on the heels of his strong showing in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"Senator Obama's early win in Iowa has swung some previously undecided New Jersey voters into his camp, but Senator Clinton's support among rank and file Democrats here remains strong," commented Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. Clinton leads 45%-26% among Democrats, 46%-23% among whites, 44%-30% among those 35-54 and 47%-23% among those 55 and up. Obama attracts more independents by a margin of 44%-27%, leads among blacks and Hispanics 48%-26%, and leads 46%-30% among 18-34 year-olds. Based on poll internals, Obama's support appears considerably weaker than Clinton's. |
