Stockton poll gives Corzine a razor-thin edge over Christie

The Richard Stockton College/Zogby International Survey, released Friday afternoon, polled 1,093 likely New Jersey voters between Oct. 27 and 29, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The announcement follows a flurry of polls released as the campaign heads into its last weekend.

“Less than a week from the election, only a third of likely voters say they would like to see Governor Corzine re-elected,” said Sharon Schulman, executive director of Galloway-based Stockton’s Hughes Center for Public Policy. “The majority want someone new, including 30 percent of likely Democratic voters and 70 percent of Independents and unaffiliated voters.”

Support for independent challenger Chris Daggett sits at 14 percent. Daggett has strong support among independent and unaffiliated voters (23 percent), but also is pulling support from the left (13 percent among Democrats) and the right (8 percent among Republicans).

The poll found both Corzine and Christie’s bases are holding strong, with Corzine’s support among Democrats at 71 percent and Christie earning the backing of 77 percent of Republicans. Independent and unaffiliated voters said they’re more likely to support Christie (39 percent) than Corzine (26 percent).

Pollster John Zogby said it’s a bad year to be running as an incumbent, especially “considering New Jersey’s enormous budget problems,” but New Jersey’s historical support of Democrats should help Corzine.

Still, “the surprising rise of Chris Daggett is a testament to how ineffectual both parties have been at appealing to voters,” Zogby said. “Daggett’s performance should serve as a warning to Republicans and Democrats. If Daggett can surge and get nearer to 20 percent of the vote, we may see more third-party candidates emerge in 2010.”

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