Biden holds wide lead over Trump in New Jersey: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a 16-point lead over President Trump in New Jersey, according to a Monmouth University poll released Thursday.

Fifty-four percent of respondents said they back the presumptive Democratic nominee, while 38 percent of voters said they support Trump.

The Garden State is considered a reliably blue state, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating New Jersey as safe for the Democratic Party in 2020. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the state handily in 2016, with roughly 55 percent of the vote to Trump’s 41 percent.

There are 14 electoral votes up for grabs in the state in the general election.

Meanwhile, in the state’s Senate race, Sen. Cory Booker (D) also leads his potential GOP challengers. Fifty-eight percent of respondents backed Booker, compared to 33 percent who voiced support for former congressional candidate Hirsh Singh (R). Similarly, 55 percent of voters said they supported Booker, while 32 percent said they backed biotech engineer Rik Mehta (R).

Races for the state’s 12 House districts, however, appear to be much closer.

Democrats lead Republicans statewide, 50 percent to 38 percent, but voters are divided in New Jersey’s five most competitive districts, with Republicans and Democrats neck and neck at 46 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

The poll follows a Monmouth University survey released on Tuesday that showed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s approval rating skyrocketing amid the coronavirus outbreak. Seventy-one percent of state respondents said they approved of his job as governor, while 21 percent disapproved.

The latest Monmouth University poll was conducted April 16-19 among 704 adults in the state, including 635 registered voters. The poll’s margin of error is 3.9 percentage points.