New Poll: Rep. Andy Kim Has Wide Lead in N.J. Senate Democratic Primary, Sen. Menendez Below 10%
In September, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez was indicted on multiple federal charges related to bribery and extortion. Since then, over half of all U.S. Democratic senators, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, have called for his resignation, while Menendez has declined to step down. The indictments have prompted a primary challenge fromRepresentative Andy Kim, with other candidates expressing potential interest in entering the field as well.
In a new poll of 551 likely Democratic primary voters in New Jersey, Data for Progress finds that Kim leads a three-way race between himself, Menendez, and Kyle Jasey in the 2024 Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate. Kim has support from nearly half of voters at 48%, while Menendez trails at 9%. Forty percent of voters are unsure.
In a wider field of potential candidates for the 2024 race, Kim continues to lead the pack while support for Menendez drops even further. In this scenario, Kim leads with 27%, followed by Rep. Mikie Sherrill at 20% and Reps. Frank Pallone and Josh Gottheimer tied with 6%. Twenty-nine percent of voters are undecided.
When asked about their awareness of Menendez’s various federal indictments, the overwhelming majority of likely New Jersey Democratic primary voters say they have heard about the charges. Sixty-nine percent say they have heard “a lot” while 26% say they have heard “a little.” Only 5% have heard “nothing at all.”
We also find that 78% of likely Democratic primary voters in New Jersey believe Menendez should resign from the Senate, while only 14% say he should not resign.
The survey also finds majority support for a number of progressive policies among likely Democratic primary voters in New Jersey. We find that 67% support ending the filibuster, 73% support building offshore wind turbines off the coast of New Jersey, 86% support enshrining the right to abortion care into law, and 93% support passing a 2% wealth tax on the ultra-wealthy.
Survey Methodology
From September 29 to October 3, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 551 likely Democratic primary voters in New Jersey using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.