This is the part of the election process that drives candidates — and their campaigns — mad.
Despite months of campaigning, ads on TV and all over the internet, so much of the electorate is undecided. Or, more, not engaged.
That was one of the takeaways from the unofficial BINJE poll that we took at Made in New Jersey Manufacturing Day.
When asked which gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Mikie Sherrill or Republican Jack Ciattarelli, would be better for the sector, nearly everyone polled said they didn’t know enough to pick.
Yet.
The good news for the candidates: They each got 30 minutes or so to state their case to the more than 1,200 in attendance — both in a short statement and then a Q&A session with Ben Dworkin.
Dworkin, the founding director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University, wasn’t surprised to hear so many in attendance said they knew so little about the candidates’ plans for their sector.
“It’s not particularly surprising at all,” he said. “People in the Trenton beltway are much more focused on the nuances in policy positions between the two candidates than others are.
“And there’s a good reason for it: Everybody else is working.”
Dworkin said that idea certainly can be connected to the manufacturing sector, which is facing upheaval because of tariff and supply-chain issues.
“I don’t look at them as ‘uninformed voters,’” he said. “I look at them as people who are very busy trying to make a living. Given the challenges that manufacturing has these days — and has had continuously over the last nine months, this isn’t surprising at all.”
Dworkin said that’s why events such as Manufacturing Day are so important to the candidates.
“They absolutely understand that these are events that bring votes,” he said. “They also are opportunities for them to continually refine their message and see what resonates.”
The good news for those in attendance? Both candidates have pledged to support manufacturing in the state and the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program — both publicly and privately.
At least, that’s the take of NJMEP CEO Peter Connolly.
“We have been pleased,” he said. “Both candidates have been engaged with us and seem to understand how significant manufacturing is to our state.”
