Sherrill Gets Solid Marks for Handling of Caldwell Investigation as Her Approval Rating Holds Steady

Nearly 7 in 10 New Jerseyans say the governor is handling the lieutenant governor's ethics case well, while more residents say the state is on the wrong track than headed in the right direction

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 1, 2026) – Gov. Mikie Sherrill heads into the fall with her ratings holding somewhat steady among New Jersey adults and with broad approval for how she has handled the ethics investigation into the former Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.

Forty-four percent of New Jerseyans approve of the way Sherrill is handling her job as governor – virtually unchanged since March 2026; 34% now disapprove (up 5 points), and 22% are unsure. Among those who have formed an opinion, 56% approve.

Thirty-nine percent have a favorable impression of Sherrill, while 31% have an unfavorable one. Just over a quarter (27%) have no opinion of the governor, and 3% say they don’t know who she is. Sherrill’s ratings are down slightly since March, when 44% of residents had a favorable impression of her and 29% had an unfavorable one, though these shifts are within the poll’s margin of error.

“Nine months into her term, Gov. Sherrill's approval numbers look much like they did at 100 days, which in this political climate – and after a challenging summer – is itself an accomplishment," said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "She continues to draw more positive reactions than negative ones, and more New Jerseyans have formed an impression of her than had of Phil Murphy at this same point in his first term. But a quarter of residents still have no opinion of her almost a year in, and how those New Jerseyans eventually break will decide whether her net positive ratings hold.”

Residents were asked how well Sherrill is handling the situation involving Caldwell. An independent review found he violated state ethics policies, and he resigned at the governor's request on Friday. Because the investigation concluded and Caldwell stepped down while the poll was being conducted, the question's wording was updated mid-fielding to reflect these events. There was no statistically significant difference in the way residents responded to the question before versus after Caldwell announced his resignation. Across all 976 residents who answered either version of the question, 36% say she is handling the situation very well, while another 32% say somewhat well. Nine percent say she is not handling it very well and 5% not well at all, while 19% are unsure.

Put another way, among residents who offered an opinion either way, more than 8 in 10 (83%) have a positive view of the governor’s handling of the matter.

“New Jerseyans are largely giving Sherrill credit for how she has responded to a problem inside her own administration,” Koning said. “She brought in an outside investigator and then called publicly for her own lieutenant governor to resign, and most residents read that as accountability rather than protecting her own or politics as usual. It’s a continuation of Sherrill’s themes of transparency and responsibility that began on the campaign trail and have been emphasized throughout her first year.”

On the direction of the state, more New Jerseyans are negative than positive. Thirty-seven percent say New Jersey is going in the right direction, while 43% say it has gone off on the wrong track. Two in 10 (20%) are unsure.

As for President Donald Trump, 24% of residents say they have a favorable impression of him, while 66% are unfavorable and 10% have no opinion.

Results are from a statewide poll of 1,004 adults contacted through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from September 24 to September 27. The full sample has a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.