Do New Jersey Voters Care About Menendez Scandal?
Which poll to believe?
New Jersey voters either strongly disapprove of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and think he’s dishonest, or they really don’t care much about the news of his ongoing scandals, depending on which poll you trust.
This morning the Quinnipiac Polling Institute released a poll that indicates that Menendez approval rating is down 15 points in one month. By a 44%-28% margin, New Jersey voters say he is not honest or trustworthy. Menendez’s approval numbers are upside down with 41% of voters disapproving of him and only 36% approving.
Just a week ago, Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press released a poll with the headline Sen Menendez Unaffected By Donor Scandal . The Monmouth/APP poll says that 68% of New Jersey voters had heard about “the donor scandal” but that only 24% thought the senator was involved in any wrongdoing. The poll said that 65% either hadn’t formed an opinion or hadn’t heard enough. The Monmouth/APP poll said that Menendez’s approval ratings werre similar to prior ratings over the last two years. Last week, 41% of the voters approved of the job Menendez is doing and only 28% disapproved.
Menendez has been in Afghanistan and out of the news for most of the week between poll releases.
Usually the Monmouth and Quinnipiac polls report consistent results, within a point or 2 and within the margin of error. But this is the second time within the last year that there has been such a large disparity between the two respected independent pollsters. Last April, Monmouth reported Governor Christie’s approval ratings were 11 points lower than Quinnipiac reported a week prior. There was so much talk about the different numbers last April that Monmouth Polling Director Patrick Murray wrote a column defending his work and criticising Quinnipiac.
This time around, Murray’s poll release is flawed. His numbers are fine. It’s his spin, which determines how most news outlets report the poll, that is the problem.
What was asked and when was it asked?
Posted: February 21st, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Bob Menendez, Monmouth University Poll, Patrick Murray, Quinnipiac poll | Tags: Bob Menendez, Menendez donor scandal, Menendez scandals, Menendez sex sccandals, Monmouth University Poll, Monmouth/APP poll, Patick Murray, Quinnipiac poll | 6 Comments »