What do you think of the job Phil Murphy is doing as governor?

As Murphy enters the second half of his first term, a new poll finds Garden State residents have mixed feelings.

Krista Jenkins, the director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, said opinion remains divided over the governor’s leadership and the direction of the state.

Murphy maintains a 42% approval and 36% disapproval rating.

And opinion is mixed on whether the Garden State is on the right track: 42% think it's moving in the right direction; 41% do not.

The Democratic governor's net-positive approval rating is better than President Donald Trump's net-negative support in New Jersey, which a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll put at 32% approval and 60% disapproval. Trump's approval nationally, however, is much higher at 49%, according to Gallup.

While most Democrats (59%) approve of Murphy’s job performance, 30% either disapprove or say they simply don’t know. Among Republicans, 68% disapprove of Murphy’s job performance while 22% approve.

A third of poll respondents did not believe Murphy had accomplished much.

Jenkins said the most commonly cited accomplishment for Murphy was the state’s minimum wage increase, which is on its way up to $15 an hour.

Some poll respondents were aware of Murphy's efforts to legalize recreational marijuana even though that has not succeeded.

The poll found that 28% of people believe that transportation problems with road conditions and trains have gotten worse since Murphy took office while 19% thought things had improved.

The poll also found that 44% believe that taxes and spending are now worse.

The survey was conducted by live callers on both landlines and cellular phones between Feb. 12 to 16 with a scientifically selected random sample of 805 adults.

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