In a powerful across-the-aisle consensus, a massive majority of New Jersey voters are calling on elected officials to urgently prioritize healthcare affordability and expand access to mental health services, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.
The survey, which is part of the ongoing New Jersey Health Matters series, was commissioned by the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
The data indicates a sharp public demand for systemic intervention, with 93% of respondents stating it is important for the government to tackle soaring healthcare costs, including 76% who label the issue as “very important.”
Public concern spikes even higher regarding the state of mental healthcare. An overwhelming 86% of voters believe elected leaders must expand mental health access, and 80% specifically support embedded mental health services inside K-12 public schools.
The numbers reflect an active frustration with current public protocols. The poll revealed that a large portion of the electorate believes current institutions are missing the mark:
- 63% state the federal government is doing “too little” on mental health.
- 49% believe the New Jersey state government is falling short.
- 47% argue the state’s public school districts are not doing enough.
“The recent poll results reflect what we’ve been hearing across New Jersey: Residents want more access to mental health, including expanded access in schools,” Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute said. Schwimmer noted that the institute is preparing to release a Children’s Mental Health Mapping Report containing 17 targeted recommendations to help state policymakers bridge these coverage gaps.
While broad majorities across all backgrounds agree the issues are critical, the Rutgers data exposed deep undercurrents of partisan, gender, and socioeconomic division regarding the severity of the crisis.
The gap between political parties widens significantly on the intensity of the issue. While 76% of Democrats view expanding general mental health access as “very important,” only 33% of Republicans share the same view. This gap stretches even further on the topic of federal intervention: 83% of Democrats insist the federal government is doing too little, whereas Republicans are far more likely to believe federal agencies are doing “just the right amount.”
Women place a much higher premium on legislative intervention than men, significantly outscoring them on the “very important” metric for mental health access (69% vs. 47%) and K-12 in-school services (64% vs. 40%). Women are also drastically more likely to say that finding care is actively difficult for adults and children alike.
Non-white, lower-income, and less-educated voters consistently place the highest importance on government intervention. These vulnerable populations report experiencing much higher barriers to entry when trying to secure mental health treatments, and they consistently rate their own personal baseline physical and mental health lower than their wealthier, white counterparts.
Perhaps the most alarming trend identified by the Eagleton researchers is a severe generational divide regarding self-assessed well-being.
While older residents over the age of 65 report exceptionally robust personal stability—with 48% describing their mental health as “excellent”—younger voters are struggling. Just 24% of young adults aged 18 to 34 rate their mental health as “excellent,” while a striking 33% describe their current state as merely “fair.” Younger voters are also the most likely demographic to report that accessing professional help is “very difficult” for themselves and the country at large.
“New Jersey voters clearly see health care affordability and mental health access as priorities for their elected officials, and that holds across party lines, even if the intensity varies,” Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling said. “Many also say government and schools are falling short… signaling that voters want action on this important issue.”
The comprehensive statewide poll surveyed 859 registered New Jersey voters between May 15 and May 19, 2026, and carries a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.
