Phil Murphy, the Democratic Party nominee for governor, is holding a double-digit lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno with two weeks until the election, according to a new poll of likely voters.

Quinnipiac University said 57 percent of likely voters back Murphy for governor compared to Guadagno's 37 percent. That's a moderate but expected loss in support for Murphy, who had a 25 percentage point lead over Guadagno in the university's last poll of the governor's race in September.

The poll points to how much personality weighs on voters compared to policy. Guadagno has made lowering property taxes the focus of her campaign. And while 36 percent of voters polled said that taxes are the most important issue in deciding how they will vote, many more — 51 percent — said that Gov. Chris Christie has had a negative impact on Guadagno. That, along with President Donald Trump's poor standing in New Jersey, puts Guadagno at a disadvantage.

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Guadagno also has lopsided favorability: 33 percent of voters view her favorably, while 41 percent view her unfavorably. It is nearly the reverse for Murphy, who had 44 percent of those polled viewing him favorably and 34 percent unfavorably.

"Lt. Gov. Guadagno could not be in a worse situation. Phil Murphy leads her among most voter groups and the state's electorate gives her an unfavorable rating overall," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. "What's more, politics is a team game. Guadagno's GOP teammates — President Donald Trump, with a 33 percent job approval rating, and Gov. Christopher Christie, with his 15 percent approval rating — are clearly pulling her down."

Murphy's lead is propelled by likely female voters. Quinnipiac said that 65 percent of women polled back Murphy compared to 29 percent in favor of Guadagno. Men were divided, with 49 percent in favor of Murphy and 45 percent for Guadagno, the poll said.

Brown noted that Republicans sometimes win in blue states like New Jersey, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 800,000 people, by attracting "soft" Democrats and independent voters. But just 4 percent of Democrats said they will vote for Guadagno, while 8 percent of Republicans back Murphy, according to the poll. Murphy also has the support of 52 percent of independents to Guadagno's 39 percent, according to the poll. That double-digit lead, Brown said, "makes it difficult to find a realistic path to a Guadagno victory."

Guadagno's campaign has been dismissive of public polling, calling them "garbage" and offering its own internal surveys that show a closer race. Her pollster, Adam Geller, dismissed the latest poll and its methodology.

“Public polls have been wrong time and time again, and this Quinnipiac poll is no different. They used a random digit dialing methodology, a great methodology if you’re doing market research to sell soap but a terrible methodology for most elections, which is why internal campaign pollsters avoid it," said Geller, who worked for Christie and Trump.

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The Quinnipiac poll also asked voters about their views of Trump, Christie and Sens. Cory Booker, D-Newark, and Bob Menendez, D-Paramus, who is standing trial on federal corruption charges.

Sixty-five percent of likely voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing. And Christie continues to be held in low esteem by voters, with a 15 percent approval rating. Fifty-seven percent of likely voters in Christie's Republican party disapprove of the job he's doing, the poll said.

Menendez has seen his support decline, as well. He has a 31 percent job approval in the poll and 59 percent say that he does not deserve to be re-elected next year. His trial is in its second month and if convicted, Mendendez could be forced to resign.

Booker has a job approval rating of 61 percent, according to the poll.

Quinnipiac conducted the poll among 1,049 likely voters from Oct. 19 to 24. It has a 4.2 percent margin of error.