Oliver the Spoiler?

New #NJSen Poll (Without Oliver) from Quinnipiac Shows Booker in a Strong Position. But Will it Last?

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

oliverChris Christie’s 2-to-1 lead over Barbara Buono in the latest Quinnipiac Poll out today isn’t remarkable, Save Jerseyans, insofar as it’s not really news. Large Christie leads are the status quo.

What’s slightly more interesting is how Cory Booker’s name recognition (only 25% don’t know enough to form an opinion) easily trumps Frank Pallone (68%), Rush Holt (67%) and Steve Lonegan (62%).

What the Q poll didn’t include is Sheila Oliver, the Speaker of the General Assembly, who just threw her hat in the ring last night after the poll was already completed. Oliver’s name recognition is likely no better (and possibly worse) than her federal counterparts Pallone and Holt. The Speaker’s significance in this race is that she is an (1) African American (2) female (2) also from Booker’s “base” of Essex County. I’ve put “base” inside quotation marks because the Newark Mayor is much more popular with suburban yuppies than his own urban voters at the moment, but with Oliver competing for support in his home county, one can’t help but wonder whether she’ll play spoiler and tip the balance to Frank Pallone?

It’s a fluid situation, folks. We’ll wait for more developments… and the next poll… to see exactly how Speaker Oliver fits into this #njsen puzzle.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8405 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

Comments are closed.