FDU poll finds Sherrill’s approval slipping as Trump draws 66% disapproval in New Jersey
NEW JERSEY — New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill continues to receive more favorable than unfavorable job approval ratings, although her support has declined since March, while President Donald Trump faces disapproval from nearly two-thirds of the state’s voters, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The latest FDU Poll found that 48% of New Jersey voters approve of Sherrill’s performance as governor, compared with 32% who disapprove. Another 20% were unsure or did not provide an opinion.
Sherrill’s approval rating has fallen 10 percentage points from 58% in March, but the survey suggests the decline is largely attributable to an increase in undecided responses rather than a significant rise in disapproval.
In March, 34% of voters disapproved of Sherrill’s performance, compared with 32% in the latest survey.
“Normally, you’d expect attitudes towards the governor to become more, rather than less, certain over time,” said Dan Cassino, a Professor of Government and Politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the Executive Director of the FDU Poll. “But for whatever reason, Democrats are not as happy with the Governor as they were when she took over.”
The largest shift occurred among Democratic voters, whose approval of Sherrill declined from 88% in March to 71% in October. During the same period, Democratic disapproval increased from 7% to 12%, while the percentage of Democrats who were unsure or declined to answer rose from 5% to 17%.
Researchers reported similar increases in uncertain responses among Democrats who identified as liberal, progressive or moderate, suggesting the shift was not concentrated within one ideological segment of the party.
Sherrill’s approval among women also declined by 16 percentage points since March, while her approval among men remained relatively stable, moving from 53% to 50%.
“It’s not clear what Sherrill has done to cause voters who should be among her most loyal supporters to distance themselves,” said Cassino. “But whatever it is, this is a blinking yellow light for the administration.”
The poll’s researchers cautioned that changes in the composition of the Democratic electorate could help explain some of the results. More respondents now identify as Democrats than in earlier surveys, potentially bringing voters who previously identified as independents or Republicans into the party’s approval figures.
Because the surveys did not follow the same individual voters over time, researchers said they could not determine whether the shifts reflect changing opinions among existing Democrats or changes in who identifies with the party.
The university also noted a methodological difference between the surveys. The October results were weighted to represent likely voters in the upcoming midterm elections, while the March survey was weighted to reflect the state’s broader voting population. Researchers said applying the earlier weighting approach to the October results did not substantially change the findings.
Trump’s approval stands at 29% in New Jersey
The same survey found that 29% of New Jersey voters approve of Trump’s job performance as president, while 66% disapprove and 5% are unsure.
Trump’s approval varied considerably across political groups. Among self-identified Republican voters, 74% approved of his performance, compared with 68% of conservatives and 21% of moderates.
Among respondents who identified with the Make America Great Again movement, 95% approved of Trump’s performance.
“Trump isn’t running for re-election, but he has made himself the face of the Republican Party,” said Cassino. “The fact that he’s this unpopular means that he’s dragging down Republican candidates in a way that a less visible President might not be.”
That assessment reflects the poll director’s interpretation of the findings. The survey measured voters’ views of Trump but does not, by itself, establish how those opinions will affect individual Republican candidates in the upcoming elections.
The survey also found differences in Trump’s approval across racial and ethnic groups. Among Hispanic voters in New Jersey, 36% approved of his performance and 60% disapproved. His approval among Black voters was 7%.
The university noted that Trump performed better in New Jersey during the 2024 presidential election than many observers expected, but the latest findings indicate limited approval of his current job performance among those surveyed.
How the poll was conducted
The FDU Poll surveyed New Jersey registered voters from Oct. 16 through Oct. 22, 2026, using live telephone interviews and online surveys delivered through text messages. Braun Research of Princeton conducted the survey, which was administered in English.
Respondents were contacted through landline telephones, cellphones and text messages containing links to online questionnaires. The results were weighted to reflect likely New Jersey voters based on the 2024 and 2025 elections, accounting for factors including age, sex, education, geographic region and race or ethnicity.
The university reported a margin of error of approximately plus or minus 5.1 percentage points when accounting for the effects of weighting, at a 95% confidence level. Margins of error for individual demographic and political subgroups may be larger.
The methodology accompanying the release contains a discrepancy in the reported sample size, referring to 805 registered voters in one section and 807 in its sampling-error calculation.
As with all public opinion surveys, the findings represent a snapshot of voter attitudes during the polling period and are subject to sampling error and other potential sources of variation, including question wording and nonresponse.
