A poll paid for by Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon’s campaign shows a big lead over challenger Jake Hudnut in the non-partisan November 2nd municipal elections.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Councilman James Solomon has a big lead over Jake Hudnut (47% Solomon / 11% Hudnut), as voters like him and think he is doing a good job,” ALG Research’s Brian Stryker and David Poyer wrote in a poll memo to the Solomon campaign on September 15th.
“He’s in a strong position to be re-elected over Jake Hudnut, who has mixed popularity rating and little name ID.”
The poll findings, conducted between September 7th and 12th via phone and text-to-web surveys among 200 likely Ward E voters, also indicates that 42 percent of voters remain undecided.
With that in mind, those poll respondents who voted in the 2017 election supported Solomon by a nearly 4-to-1 margin: 57 percent to 15 percent, with 28 percent of voters undecided, along with a 20 percent lead among new voters for the incumbent.
In the poll, Solomon also boasts 68 percent name recognition – 55 percent favorable and 13 percent favorable – holding strong across racial and ideological lines among men and women of all ages.
His job rating also came in at plus 39: 56 percent positive and 17 percent negative.
Conversely, ALG, who have polled for a variety of clients such as Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama (D), found that Hudnut’s name recognition is at 35 percent: 19 percent favorable and 16 percent unfavorable.
He also posted negative ratings with women, white voters, and voters without a college degree.
Both ALG and the Solomon campaign declined to comment on specifics beyond what was in the poll memo, though sources familiar with the poll said that Mayor Steven Fulop – who tapped Hudnut to run on his ticket – was not included in the polling.
Solomon campaign manager Stuart Thomas said these results speak for themselves, though they won’t be letting up until the polls close on November 2nd.
“The findings of this poll are clear: the voters of Ward E want a progressive leader who will stand up for our community against the wealthy developers who have run the show downtown for too long. Voters see how Councilman Solomon has delivered core infrastructure improvements that downtown desperately needs like the first new elementary school in decades and the first new light-rail station north of the Holland Tunnel ever,” he said in a statement.
“It’s clear that they want to give him another four years to continue that work. That being said, this campaign isn’t taking a single thing for granted. We are continuing to go block by block to spread our message to Downtown residents that James Solomon is still not for sale, and neither is this community.”
Expectedly, Team Steven Fulop campaign spokesman Phil Swibinski was unimpressed, calling such an effort “a desperate attempt by a nervous incumbent” to make a statement during peak election season.
“This is a desperate attempt by a nervous incumbent who is watching support for Jake Hudnut grow. While any incomplete internal poll should be taken with a grain of salt, the fact that Councilman Solomon chose to release a poll where he is getting less than 50% of the vote as an incumbent is telling,” he exclaimed.
“The truth is that Downtown voters have had enough of James Solomon’s obstructionism and empty promises and they are ready for a new representative who will work with Mayor Fulop to solve problems and move Jersey City forward, and that’s exactly the kind of councilman Jake Hudnut will be.”
