New Poll Shows Three-Way Dead Heat in Jersey City Mayoral Race

A new poll conducted by Hart Research between October 14 and 16 finds the Jersey City mayoral race locked in a statistical tie, with former governor Jim McGreevey, Bill O’Dea, and James Solomon each commanding similar levels of support. The poll of likely voters shows McGreevey at 23 percent, with O’Dea and Solomon both at 20 percent. Mussab Ali registers at 12 percent, Joyce Watterman at 3 percent, and 21 percent of voters remain undecided.

The results reflect a continued narrowing of the race, with McGreevey’s support declining by seven points since an earlier poll commissioned by the O’Dea campaign in August. A separate internal poll released days earlier by the Ali campaign similarly showed McGreevey in the lead but with reduced margins, and Ali rising into second place.

“This poll shows that Jersey City voters are breaking away from Jim McGreevey in huge numbers,” said O’Dea campaign strategist Phil Swibinski. “With McGreevey’s support falling off a cliff and James Solomon not gaining significant traction outside of his Downtown base, Bill O’Dea is in a position to not only make the runoff but finish in first place.”

The Solomon campaign disputed O’Dea’s interpretation of the data. “It’s pretty desperate of Bill O’Dea to tout his so-called momentum, when his own internal polling shows James Solomon gaining double what O’Dea has during the same period,” said Solomon campaign manager Stuart Thomas. “We know some internal polls always skew slightly toward the person conducting them. This poll shows us what we already knew to be true. Our campaign has the momentum and energy in this race. James Solomon is heading to a runoff and will be Jersey City’s next Mayor on December 3.”

According to O’Dea’s own polling, Solomon gained 10 percentage points since August, rising from 10 to 20 percent, while O’Dea gained 7 points, from 13 to 20 percent.