If you're having a party, be careful when you compose the guest list. You might think twice before inviting staunch members from the two main political parties, for the presence of Republicans and/or Democrats might contribute to people's considerable discomfort.

A StimSight Poll for InsiderNJ released this week shows New Jersey voters with a negative opinion of Democrats, whose party registers a 58% unfavorable rating, and Republicans not faring much better with a 55% unfavorable rating.

That's the morose backdrop for an historic head-to-head collision between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the Nov. 4th New Jersey Governor's contest.

Is it unusual?

Not really.

"What we are seeing in this poll is nothing different than what we were seeing nationally in almost every

poll about both political parties over the past few years," said Patrick Murray, who conducted the StimSight Research Poll.

That said, President Donald Trump's reemergence in the White House has contributed significantly to the Democratic Party sliding into disarray and playing defense against Republicans who crafted a "leader" for themselves.

What does it all mean for Sherrill and Ciattarelli?

Their allies are prepared to make the arguments for why skeptics should take a look at the major parties' respective nominees and help budge the poll's nine percent of undecided voters into the winning camp.

Assemblywoman Tennille R. McCoy (D-14) is passionate in her support for Sherrill. McCoy claims that media coverage is a major concern for voters. Young voters have also shown great interest in the media, using that as their main source for information, which makes candidates' messaging critical.

"Everyday affordability, healthcare access, housing, and workforce sustainability [form] Mikie Sherrill's main focus," said McKoy.

In that vein, Sherrill on the campaign trail routinely highlights the deleterious impact of Trump's federal budget on ordinary New Jersey's Medicare and Medicaid access, the removal of renewable energy subsidies, and dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education and how it will shift costs to parents.

Ciattarelli tends to emphasize the cost of one-party rule in Trenton and offers Republican executive leadership in part to temper Democratic Party power and prioritize the property tax issue.

The StimSight Poll shows that New Jersey voters respond to affordability framed by the state's property tax problem, with room for both candidates to define better define themselves:

"Affordability (53%) and taxes (43%) are the themes of this election, rising to the top of a list of 13 different issues that voters say are most important to them in choosing a candidate for governor. Among voters who name affordability as one of their top issues, Sherrill (36%) and Ciattarelli (34%) run about evenly on who can better handle it, but the Republican has an overwhelming advantage among those concerned with lowering taxes (50% to 15% for Sherrill). The Democrat has a small edge on being able to provide economic opportunities for New Jersey families (54% to 49% for the Republican)."

Assemblyman John DiMaio (R-23), GOP Leader in the Assembly - knows what it's like to toil in the

minority in Trenton.

"Electric rates are going up 18-20 percent, we are a net importer of electricity. We need to bring things back to the middle and give the taxpayer a break in New Jersey," DiMaio told InsiderNJ.

But for Newark West Ward Democratic Chairman Chigozie Onyema, "Mikie can speak directly to the needs of the base of the party" with her multi-pronged plan to attack New Jersey's energy crisis, exacerbated by Trump's budget.

On the trail this week, Ciattarelli doubled down on the argument for balance in the state capital.

"Right now, the issue with regard to independent contractors," he told InsiderNJ. "Our economy is best served when there's balance. They want to make... every nonunion job a union job. Our business tax is the highest in the country, while Philadelphia is cutting their business tax from ten to five percent, Mikie Sherrill has said nothing while Democrats rose the business tax from 9 to 11.5 percent, the highest in the nation."

For her part, Sherrill targeted the impact of Trump's tariffs on regular New Jerseyans.

Maybe the nominees for governor from the major parties won't be at your next party.

But the issues and people grappling with them on the ground, probably will be, as affordability, or the lack thereof, permeates everything, and Democrats and Republicans standing faithfully behind their candidates will make the case, presumably with increasing intensity, as Ciattarelli and Sherrill campaign in the three months remaining before D-Day.