With a little over one month to go before the June 10 primary election in New Jersey, registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents seem to be coalescing around Jack Ciattarelli, while registered Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents are more divided among the six candidates in their race, according to a new poll released this morning.

“We currently have a tale of two primaries,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, which conducted the poll.

“On the Republican side, a leading candidate is coming into focus, while on the Democratic side, there is no clear frontrunner, given that most of the Democratic candidates are within striking distance of one another.”

When asked to name their preferred candidate for upcoming primary, 42% of New Jersey registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed say they prefer former assemblyman and 2021 Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli.

Former radio host Bill Spadea comes in a distant second, with 12%. Four percent of Republicans say they prefer state Sen. Jon Bramnick, 3% chose Justin Barbera, and no one chooses Mario Kranjac. Four percent say they prefer none of these candidates.

Former state Senator Ed Durr dropped his bid last month.

The Democratic side, however, is a much tighter race.

Seventeen percent of registered Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents say they prefer Rep. Mikie Sherrill, followed by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop at 12% – a difference within the margin of error.

They are followed by New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) president Sean Spiller at 10%, Rep. Josh Gottheimer and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka each at 9%, and then former state Senate President Steve Sweeney at 7%. Four percent say they prefer none of these candidates.

The poll was conducted from April 1-10 with a sample size of 966 registered New Jersey voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%.