Poll: Corzine's approval rating up slightly

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - October 9, 2008 The Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll found 45 percent approve of the Democrat's performance, while 39 percent disapprove. That's an improvement from the marks he received in September, when 41 percent approved of the job he was doing, while 43 percent disapproved.

Meanwhile, only 23 percent of respondents said the state is headed in the right direction, while 67 percent say it's off on the wrong track - numbers that remain unchanged from last month.

When asked about boosting tolls on state highways, 53 percent opposed such hikes - even if the money raised would be used to repair bridges and roads, widen the New Jersey Turnpike and help build a rail tunnel into Manhattan. Those ideas were included in recent proposals from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The poll found 37 percent support the idea, and the overall numbers are very similar to PublicMind surveys conducted earlier this year, when Corzine suggested raising tolls to pay down state debt and fund transportation projects.

"One thing that is different is that this (latest) toll proposal has had a much lower profile," said Peter Woolley, the poll director and a political scientist. "The proposal was put out by the Turnpike Authority, not the governor's office, allowing the governor to be at arm's length."

Only 33 percent of respondents said they had heard "a lot" about the most recent toll proposal.

The telephone poll of 801 registered voters statewide was conducted from Sept. 29 through Oct. 5 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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