_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Contact: PATRICK MURRAY This poll was conducted by the 732-263-5858 (office) Monmouth University Polling Institute 732-979-6769 (cell)
[email protected] 400 Cedar Avenue West Long Branch, NJ 07764 www.monmouth.edu/polling EMBARGOED to: Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 5:00 am SHAKE-UP IN NEW JERSEY PRESIDENTIAL STAKES Hillary still ahead but Obama gains; McCain overtakes Rudy It appears that the early presidential nominating contests have shaken up the primary picture here in New Jersey, especially for the G.O.P. According to the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll taken after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton now leads Barack Obama by 12 points among likely Democratic voters in New Jersey, which is down somewhat from the 19 point lead she held in October. However, the poll found an even larger shake-up on the Republican side, with John McCain now holding a slight 4 point lead over Rudy Giuliani. Just a few months ago, the former New York mayor held a commanding 32 point lead over the Arizona senator. 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.