Gov. Phil Murphy’s approval ratings in New Jersey have skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic to the highest he’s seen since becoming governor in January 2018, a new poll shows.

And the Monmouth University poll released Tuesday morning also found a vast majority of Garden State residents agree with the unprecedented lockdown measures Murphy has instituted to combat COVID-19.

The survey shows 71% of adult residents approve of the job the Democratic governor is doing — a 30-point increase from September.

That gives Murphy number similar numbers to the high grades his Republican predecessor, Gov. Chris Christie, got following Hurricane Sandy. Christie’s rating grew as high as 73% in a January 2013 poll.

Murphy’s highest previous approval rating was 54% in October 2018, in a Quinnipiac University Poll.

Tuesday’s poll found a number of elected officials have seen their approvals tick up during the COVID-19 pandemic — U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, the state Legislature, and even President Donald Trump.

But none witnessed a larger jump than Murphy, who had seen middle-of-the-road approval ratings and name recognition his first two years after succeeding Christie.

“Not only are Murphy’s approval numbers up, but more New Jerseyans are taking notice than during the first two years of his term," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Leadership becomes much more relevant in a crisis, and Murphy is getting solid reviews for his response.”

The survey shows more residents approve of New Jersey’s response to the outbreak than the federal government’s reaction. Nearly 8 in 10 New Jerseyans say Murphy has done well.

A majority of residents even agree with the governor’s controversial decision to close state parks. Still, the state’s coronavirus testing draws negative grades.

The poll was released on the one-month anniversary of Murphy’s orders for New Jersey residents to stay home and nonessential businesses to close until further notice.

There has been record unemployment and business losses in the wake of similar orders across America, as well as protests in numerous states.

But Murray, the pollster, said the survey shows “these protestors represent an incredibly small sliver” of New Jersey residents.

“The vast majority are united in their support for social-distancing measures to protect the health of their fellow New Jerseyans,” Murray said.

As of Monday, New Jersey has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases (88,806) and deaths (4,377) among U.S. states, after New York. But it’s difficult to know exactly how much the virus has spread in the state because of a lack of widespread testing.

Here’s a deeper look at the poll:

MURPHY’S NUMBERS

The survey found 71% of adults approve of Murphy’s overall job performance, while 21% disapprove and 8% have no opinion. In Monmouth’s last poll, from September, Murphy’s numbers were 41% approval, 38% disapproval, and 21% no opinion.

Murphy’s approval also increased 21 percentage points among Democrats (71% in September to 92% now), by 41 percentage points among independents (28% to 69%), and 29 percentage points among Republicans (from 16% to 45%).

Meanwhile, 79% say Murphy has done a good job handling the pandemic, while 10% say he’s done a bad job. That’s a little higher than the average for all 50 U.S. governors (72%) in a Monmouth poll from earlier this month.

BOOKER, MENENDEZ, AND THE LEGISLATURE

Booker, New Jersey’s Democratic U.S. senator, drew a rating of 51% approve and 44% disapprove. That’s up from 45% in September.

Menendez, New Jersey’s other Democratic U.S. senator, landed a rating of 45% approve and 36% disapprove. That’s up from 36% in September, marking the first time in a while he’s above water.

Meanwhile, the state Legislature got a positive rating for the first time in six years — 54%, up from 44% in September.

TRUMP’S NUMBERS

Trump, a Republican who has largely been unpopular in blue New Jersey, remains underwater. But his rating of 41% approve and 56% disapprove is up from 37% approve and 55% disapprove in September. (Still, that’s within the poll’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points.)

Only 4 in 10 say Trump has done a good job handling the crisis, while 52% say he’s done a bad job. That’s slightly more negative than the 46% good and 49% bad rating he received in Monmouth’s national poll this month.

LOCKDOWN ORDERS

More than 6 in 10 residents (64%) say the measures New Jersey has taken to help slow the virus’ spread have been appropriate, while 11% say they’ve gone too far and 23% say they haven’t gone far enough.

Only 42% say the federal government’s measures have been appropriate, while 5% say they’ve gone too far and 51% say they haven’t gone far enough.

As for Murphy’s individual orders? Nearly 9 in 10 residents approve of the following restrictions: 97% for requiring people to keep a distance of 6 feet, 95% for requiring a face covering in public, 88% for banning all gatherings, 94% for limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery, 94% for closing gyms, 89% for closing libraries, 88% for closing child-care centers, 86% for closing nonessential retail stores, and 89% for delaying the state’s primary elections.

The following orders received slightly lower approval: 80% for limiting supermarket hours, 74% for stopping nonessential construction projects, 70% for closing state and county parks, 64% for publicly naming people who violate the orders.

There are wide partisan differences regarding the parks decision, with 84% of Democrats, 67% of independents, and 55% of Republicans approving. “Shutting down state and county parks has probably sparked the biggest public pushback against the governor," Murray said. “The outcry is largely partisan, perhaps because it is the one area where GOP politicians feel they can criticize the governor without looking uncooperative.”

There’s also partisan divide over state officials naming and shaming violators of Murphy’s orders, with 75% of Democrats, 59% of independents approve, and 60% of Republicans approving. But only 35% of residents say they’re aware the state is doing this.

“This is one measure that has escaped the public’s attention," Murray said.

As for schools being closed, 87% of residents agree with Murphy’s recent announcement that they will remain shuttered through at least May 15. But about half (51%) feel he should have closed schools for the remainder of the academic year, while 46% say he should make a call every four weeks or so.

TESTING

Only 27% of residents say New Jersey has been offering enough coronavirus tests, while 67% say it hasn’t. As for who’s fault that is? Of those who say there’s not enough testing, 29% say the state government should do more, while 31% say it’s out of the state’s control and 7% say they don’t know who is to blame.

The poll was conducted via telephone from April 16-19, with 704 New Jersey adults. The margin of error was plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points. The poll is weighted to reflect the state’s demographics.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.

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