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The basics:

• 57% support Sherrill’s multiyear deficit-reduction plan
• 80% back ending last-minute budget spending additions
• School aid, pensions, youth mental health funding earn support
• Higher education funding cuts singular opposed proposal

A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll finds broad voter support for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s multiyear strategy to reduce New Jersey’s structural deficit, with most major elements of her proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget receiving majority backing from voters across the state.

The survey, released May 29 by the Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, comes as budget negotiations intensify ahead of the June 30 constitutional deadline for lawmakers to adopt a final spending plan.

The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll surveyed 859 registered voters statewide from May 15–19 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.2%.

According to the poll, 57% of registered voters support continuing a gradual reduction of the state’s structural deficit over several years to avoid disruptive cuts to public services, which is consistent with Sherrill’s approach in her first budget plan. In comparison, 29% favor closing the gap more quickly through deeper structural reforms to pensions, health benefits and school funding.

Just 5% said the state should maintain current spending and accept the deficit; 9% were unsure.

Notably, the poll found that directly attaching Sherrill’s name to the proposal had little impact on public opinion.

“A majority of New Jersey voters seem to be on Gov. Sherrill’s side when it comes to her 2027 ‘affordability budget,’” said Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Her multiyear approach to the structural deficit is almost twice as popular as the alternative of faster, deeper cuts, and voters back most of the specific items in her budget by comfortable margins.”

Impulse items

The strongest support in the poll came for a proposal to end the practice of adding new spending items to the state budget in the final days before a legislative vote. The survey found 80% of voters supported the idea, including 63% who said they “strongly” support it and 17% who “somewhat” support it. The poll noted support for the reform did not drop below 75% among any key demographic group.

Several other budget priorities also earned strong support:

• 69% – increasing down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers by $5 million
• 69% – allocating $33 million for a new youth mental health program in K–12 schools
• 68% – making the full $7.3 billion pension payment to the state employee pension system
• 64% – limiting the amount corporations can deduct from state taxes to generate new revenue
• 63% – limiting Stay NJ property tax relief to seniors earning $250,000 or less, with a maximum benefit of $4,000
• 61% – increasing statewide preschool and K–12 aid, even though some districts would receive less funding
• 60% – preserving $70 million in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for new affordable housing construction

Supporting education

The lone proposal without majority backing involved cuts to higher education funding. The poll found 42% support reducing aid to four-year public colleges and universities, while 47% oppose the idea. Another 11% were undecided.

“While most of Sherrill’s budget items enjoy broad majority support, that support is being carried almost entirely by Democrats and independents,” Koning said. “A majority of Republicans are in opposition to most of these proposals, including increased school aid, the youth mental health program and the corporate tax changes.

“The one item where Republicans align with Democrats and independents is ending the practice of adding spending items at the last minute before a budget vote. That budget-process reform is the only item where partisanship is not the dominant story.”

The one item where Republicans align with Democrats and independents is ending the practice of adding spending items at the last minute before a budget vote.
– Ashley Koning, director, Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling

The findings arrive amid an improving, though still uncertain, fiscal outlook for the state. Earlier this month, the Sherrill administration announced April tax collections exceeded Treasury forecasts, reducing the projected FY2027 structural deficit by another $200 million, to below $1.5 billion, while boosting the projected surplus to nearly $6 billion.

“I am making disciplined, responsible choices now to both protect our fiscal stability while continuing to create long-term opportunity for New Jersey families,” Sherrill said at the time. “I will continue to fight for an affordability budget that drives down costs, reins in spending to reduce the deficit, and ensures every taxpayer dollar delivers real, meaningful returns for New Jersey’s future.”

The administration’s updated proposal also included an additional $50 million in spending cuts, lowering total proposed appropriations to roughly $60.68 billion while preserving priorities such as pension payments, school aid, property tax relief, NJ Transit funding and Medicaid.

The full poll results can be found here.