New governor, old concern.
When Mikie Sherrill becomes the state’s 57th governor next Tuesday, she will do so with the same challenge the previous 56 faced: A desire from residents for her to lower their taxes.
That is one of the key takeaways from the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, which was released today.
Residents think Sherrill should focus first and foremost on taxes, a problem that has taken the top spot for New Jerseyans for 15 years straight.
Twenty-eight percent say Sherrill should tackle taxes, with poll responses heavily dominated by residents specifically mentioning property taxes. Another 19% say Sherrill should focus first on affordability or cost of living in the state, though the umbrella theme of affordability pervaded other topics, too, such as housing and health care.
Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers-New Brunswick, broke it down this way.
“While affordability was the all-encompassing buzzword of the 2025 governor’s race, taxes remain New Jerseyans’ No. 1 priority,” she said.
“Taxes topped the list at the start of both Gov. Christie’s and Gov. Murphy’s first terms, and they’re still at the top because the problem hasn’t gone away. Taxes have consistently ranked as one of the most important issues for decades, and, much like her predecessors, Sherrill faces a challenge that may prove difficult – if not impossible – to solve.”
Other issues don’t come close. Nine percent say she should focus on utility costs, 7% say housing and housing affordability, 5% say the economy, including inflation and jobs, and 4% say health care and associated costs. Three percent each point to education and government issues, including inefficiency, corruption and spending. Two percent say Sherrill should focus on combating President Donald Trump administration’s agenda and actions and another 2% mention immigration. Twelve percent point to different issues.
“New Jerseyans overwhelmingly want Sherrill to zero in on Jersey-centric, everyday issues that directly affect their lives, many of which fall under the umbrella of affordability,” said Koning. “While anti-Trump sentiment resonated on the campaign trail, governing will require balancing any national-level actions with tangible progress on critical state concerns.”
