SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Black and Hispanic voters in New Jersey are more moderate than the average Democrat nationwide, according to a new poll by Stockton University.
The data suggests many progressive policies are further left on the ideological scale than the beliefs of Black and brown voters in the Garden State.
“What we found on almost every issue we tested, the minority voters were more moderate and closer to the middle than the Democratic Party regulars,” explained John Froonjian, director of the Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton.
The center polled on a range of issues, including abortion, gun control and immigration. In each topic, Froonjian said, the minority voters were closer to the middle despite consistently voting blue.
“New Jersey is a Democratic state, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a progressive, liberal state,” he added.
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Among other findings: Sixty-four percent of survey respondents supported legalizing recreational marijuana, compared to 70% of Democrats overall, and 27% of minority voters said they would legalize it for medical use only, compared to 22% of all Dems.
Half of Democrats said immigration should be made less difficult, while only 38% of poll respondents agreed. Nearly a quarter of respondents would make immigration harder, while only 15% of Democrats would.
Froonjian believes the center’s findings will be something to monitor ahead of the midterm elections.
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“Looking at where the party is, and you’re trying to craft a midterm message, do you go bold? Do you go for the big liberal, progressive policies, or do you tailor it more for the moderate voters?” he asked. “I thought, this is the kind of information I hadn’t seen a lot on and was worth testing to see where these voters land.
“The Democrats may have to fight for some of these votes or at least take care to make sure these voters feel that they’re representing their interests.”
Froonjain said a higher percentage of minority voters listed religion as a very important part of their lives, which he believes explains some of the more moderate positions.