Emerson Poll: Majority of Democrats Support Kim for U.S. Senate Nomination

A new Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey in New Jersey finds Congressman Andy Kim leading the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate with 51%, while 39% are undecided. Six percent support Patricia Campos Medina, and 5% support Lawrence Hamm. A majority of Republican Primary voters (84%) are undecided on which candidate they will vote for.

“Kim has coalesced a base of voters over 60 and those with college degrees,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said. “64% of voters over 60 and 58% of voters with a college degree support Kim for the nomination.”

If current Senator Bob Menendez, who has held the seat since 2006, were to run as an independent candidate, 9% would support him, while 49% would support the Democratic nominee, and 42% the Republican nominee.

“Hispanic and Black voters in New Jersey are more supportive of Menendez as an independent candidate, 17% support the senator rather than a hypothetical Democratic or Republican candidate, compared to 6% of white voters,” Kimball noted. “Additionally, 24% of voters under 30 support Menendez on a three-way ballot.”

Menendez has a 14% job approval rating among New Jersey voters, while 62% disapprove of the job he is doing. Senator Cory Booker has an approval rating of 41%, and 34% disapproval.

• Menendez’s approval is at 22% among Democrats and 9% among Republicans and independent voters. The Senator’s approval is highest among voters under 30, at 30%, and lowest among voters over 60, at 7%.

President Joe Biden holds a 40% job approval rating and 47% disapproval.

In the 2024 presidential election, 46% support Joe Biden, 39% Donald Trump, and 15% are undecided.

Over a third (35%) of Trump supporters would vote for the former President because they care about an issue, while 30% would vote for Trump because they like him. Thirty-one percent of Biden supporters support him because they dislike Trump, while 25% support Biden because they like him.

When third-party candidates are added to the ballot, Biden’s support decreases 5 points to 41% and Trump drops 3 points to 36%. Robert Kennedy Jr. received 8% support, Cornel West 1%, and Jill Stein 1%, while 14% remain undecided.

A majority of voters (62%) think the current ballot design in New Jersey that allows candidates endorsed by leaders of local political parties to be listed in a prominent position in a single column or row, referred to as “the line,” is fair, while 38% think it is not fair.

The top issue for New Jersey voters is the economy (39%), followed by housing affordability (12%), threats to democracy (11%), immigration (10%), healthcare (7%), crime (7%), and education (5%).