New Jersey voters are a fickle lot who feel no rush to choose a candidate, and a new PublicMind poll shows that hasn't changed this year. Incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg remains easily in the lead, but fewer than 50% of Garden State voters say they would vote for him in November.

The poll, conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University, surveyed 589 voters between 6/17-22 for a margin of error of +/- 4.1%. Lautenberg, a Democrat who has served four non-consecutive terms, and ex-Rep. Dick Zimmer, the Republican nominee, were tested.

General Election Matchup
(All / Dem / GOP / Ind)
Lautenberg.......45 / 69 / 11 / 29
Zimmer..............28 / 11 / 63 / 22

Just how many voters remain undecided? More than one in five Democrats, one in four Republicans and almost half of all independents say they have yet to make up their mind. Some aren't even interested in sharing their opinions of the candidates themselves. More than 30% either have no opinion of, or haven't heard of, Lautenberg, while a whopping 73% say the same thing about Zimmer.

Overall, 41% view Lautenberg favorably with 28% seeing him unfavorably. Zimmer's ratio is worse, with just a 16% favorable rating and a 10% unfavorable rating.

After a number of false starts, some early polls showed Zimmer with at least a chance to beat Lautenberg, however slim. And Lautenberg's sub-fifty poll numbers should encourage Republicans, too. But the state leans Democratic, and every year early poll numbers that show Republicans with a shot turn into a rout at the ballot box. Republicans should be wary, too, about spending ad dollars in the state; they don't have much money to burn, and buying time in the New York and Philadelphia media markets is a pricey proposition.