NJ Voters Say Taxes Are The Top Issue In Governor Race

New Jersey’s highly watched governor race is nearing the finish line, and there’s one issue that is rising above all the others, experts say.

Taxes.

Election Day takes place in the Garden State on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is term-limited and can’t run again this year.

Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee, and Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee, emerged victorious after a competitive primary election in June. Third-party and independent candidates include Vic Kaplan (Libertarian Party) and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party). Candidates running write-in campaigns include Lily Benavides (Green Party).

According to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton poll, 36 percent of likely voters are pointing to high taxes as the “top problem” that New Jersey needs to solve.

“Taxes have been the No. 1 problem for New Jerseyans for the past decade in our polling,” said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

“It’s no surprise that these kitchen table issues have once again taken center stage in the governor’s race as New Jerseyans feel the fiscal pinch now more than ever between the national and state economy – plus rising utility rates,” Koning said.

Other issues didn’t come close, pollsters said.

A close cousin of taxes – “affordability” – was the second-most-cited problem, getting responses from 21 percent of voters. Six percent point to the affordability of housing specifically, another 6 percent said “President Donald Trump and Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideology,” 5 five percent said electric and utility costs, and 4 percent pointed to the economy. Three percent each cited “Democrats or liberalism,” state or federal government problems, or education. Two percent said overdevelopment and congestion.

SALES TAX

One thing most New Jersey voters agree on? “Don’t increase or expand the state sales tax,” another Rutgers-Eagleton poll found.

Seventy-six percent of likely voters strongly oppose extending the sales tax to additional types of purchases, such as clothing and groceries (76 percent); 15 percent are somewhat opposed, 4 percent are somewhat supportive, and 3 percent are strongly supportive, pollsters reported earlier this week.

Meanwhile, here’s what New Jersey residents think about increasing the sales tax from its current rate of 6.6 percent, the poll found:

• Increase To 7 percent – When asked whether they support or oppose restoring the sales tax to its former 7 percent rate, 52 percent of likely voters say they are strongly opposed and 20 percent are somewhat opposed. Eighteen percent say they somewhat support this idea and 3 percent strongly support it.
• Increase To 10 Percent – The idea of increasing the sales tax to 10 percent got an even bigger reaction. Seventy-six percent of voters “strongly opposed” it, 10 percent somewhat opposed it, 5 percent somewhat supported it, and 4 percent strongly supported it.

SCHOOL AND PROPERTY TAXES

One proposal that has been brought up this election cycle is giving tax-funded vouchers to parents or guardians, which could be used to pay tuition for their child at a private or religious school – instead of public school.

Nearly half of likely voters supported giving parents or guardians vouchers (30% “strongly,” 19% “somewhat”), while 45% are opposed (32% “strongly,” 13% “somewhat”). Republicans are more supportive of vouchers (67%) than Democrats (37%) or independents (45%).

Meanwhile, another oft-discussed proposal – consolidating school districts in the name of taxpayer savings – got another split reaction from New Jersey residents. More than half of likely voters would support merging their local school district with a nearby district school (28% strongly, 29% somewhat) if it guaranteed property taxes would be stable for the next five years; slightly more than a quarter would still oppose it (16% somewhat, 12% strongly).

• See Related: 5 Crucial Issues In NJ Governor Race: Here's Where Sherrill, Ciattarelli Stand
• See Related: Raise Or Lower Business Taxes In NJ? Experts Disagree Amid 2025 Election

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.