Most New Jerseyans support Chris Christie. More New Yorkers back Christine Quinn than any of her rivals. And few Americans have much love for the media - but if you think journalists poll badly, try asking about Congress. This is HuffPollster for Thursday, August 8, 2013.
QUINN LEADS IN NYC’S DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY - Dalia Sussman: “Christine C. Quinn is leading the crowded field in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor, lifted by support among Manhattanites and higher-income voters, the latest New York Times/Siena College poll finds. Ms. Quinn, the City Council speaker, is backed by 25 percent of Democratic voters, followed by 16 percent for William C. Thompson Jr., a former city comptroller, and 14 percent for Bill de Blasio, the public advocate. Anthony D. Weiner garners the support of 10 percent of Democratic voters, confirming his slippage in the race that other surveys have also recorded since revelations that he continued to have sexually explicit exchanges with women online after he resigned from Congress two years ago. The remaining candidates in the poll each drew less than 5 percent; 26 percent of the Democratic voters surveyed were undecided....In the Democratic primary race for city comptroller, the poll finds Eliot Spitzer with a nine-point lead over Scott M. Stringer.” [NYT]
CHRISTIE ‘ROLLS OVER’ BUONO IN NEW JERSEY - Quinnipiac: “New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie leads among women, and even more among men, as he rolls over State Sen. Barbara Buono, his Democratic challenger for reelection, 58 - 30 percent according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters in strongly Democratic urban areas are divided, with 43 percent for Sen. Buono and 42 percent for Gov. Christie, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds. The incumbent has commanding leads in every other area of the state, from 56 - 33 percent in suburban areas to 67 - 21 percent at the Shore. Buono leads 57 - 30 percent among Democrats, while Christie leads 91 - 4 percent among Republicans and 66 - 22 percent among independent voters. He leads 62 - 27 percent among men and 56 - 34 percent among women. [Quinnipiac]
PUBLIC HAS MOSTLY DIM ASSESSMENT OF THE MEDIA - Pew Research: “Public evaluations of news organizations’ performance on key measures such as accuracy, fairness and independence remain mired near all-time lows. But there is a bright spot among these otherwise gloomy ratings: broad majorities continue to say the press acts as a watchdog by preventing political leaders from doing things that should not be done, a view that is as widely held today as at any point over the past three decades. In the wake of revelations about government activities, including the NSA surveillance program and the IRS targeting of political groups, nearly seven-in-ten (68%) say press criticism of political leaders keeps them from doing things that should not be done, while just 21% say press criticism keeps leaders from doing their job. Support for the media’s watchdog role has risen 10 points since 2011 even as other press ratings have shown little sign of improvement. [Pew Research]
FEW THINK CONGRESS DESERVES A VACATION - HuffPost: “According to a Fox News poll released Wednesday night, just 14 percent voters think Congress has worked hard enough to deserve a summer recess, while 82 percent do not. President Barack Obama fares somewhat better among voters, who are evenly split on whether he's worked hard enough to justify a break....But voters' dissatisfaction with lawmakers isn't limited to their work schedule. Just 32 percent of voters say they approve of congressional Democrats' job performance, while an even more dismal 24 percent approve of congressional Republicans' performance....The HuffPost Pollster average, which includes all publicly available polling, gives Congress an approval rating of less than 13 percent.” [HuffPost, Fox]
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THURSDAY'S 'OUTLIERS' - Links to more news at the intersection of polling, politics and political data:
-Harry Enten says Tom Cotton has a good chance to win a U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas. [Guardian]
-Patrick Murray thinks Cory Booker could offset Chris Christie’s coattails by encouraging mail-in voting. [Monmouth]
-Kevin Arceneaux argues that partisan media aren’t destroying America. [Cultural Cognition Project]
-Economic forecasters tend to swing between overly optimistic and pessimistic, a Goldman Sachs paper finds. [WaPost]
-A quarter of Americans, including 40 percent of white Americans, have no friends outside their own race. [Reuters]
- Journal of Economic Perspective charts the ideological perspectives of the very rich. [WaPost]
-Reuters introduces a new polling app. [Talking Biz News]
-Nate Silver predicts the 2014 midterms will be boring, says he doesn’t plan to write much about them. [Deadspin]
-Most New York City residents aren’t cheering for Alex Rodriguez [NYT]
-PPP asks Georgians for opinions on Martin Luther King, Paula Deen and Honey Boo Boo. [PPP]
-Most Americans thought we’d be living in computers by now, Fake Pew Research finds. [The Onion]