Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Almost all New Jersey voters say corruption is a serious problem in the state, and more people associate Democrats with political bribery than they do Republicans, a Quinnipiac University poll released today found.
Two-thirds of voters said the July 23 federal corruption arrests of 44 people in New Jersey embarrasses them as residents of the state. About the same percentage of voters said the arrests don’t make them less likely to vote for Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, in November, according to the poll.
The Republican candidate for governor, former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, leads Corzine among likely voters, 51 percent to 42 percent. In a July 14 survey, Christie led Corzine 53 percent to 41 percent. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New Jersey, and voters in the state haven’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 1997.
Voters say 50 percent to 15 percent, with 34 percent undecided, that they associate Democrats more than Republicans with political corruption in New Jersey. Independent voters blame Democrats 56 percent to 9 percent, while 28 percent of Democrats blame their own party, the poll found.
“Is corruption a big problem? Wow, is it!” Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac polling institute, said in a statement. “Almost everyone in New Jersey thinks so. And two- thirds feel personally embarrassed to live in a state where politicians are pictured in handcuffs.”
Three New Jersey mayors and two state lawmakers were among the 44 people arrested last month in a federal bribery and money laundering investigation. All three mayors were Democrats, while one assemblyman was a Democrat and the other was a Republican.
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