Among voters who highly valued "traditional" roles for men and women, Republican Jack Ciattarelli leads 88% to 11%, according to the poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Voters who said they did not value traditional gender roles supported Sherrill 82% to 16%, the poll found.
"Female candidates face a lot of hurdles that male candidates simply do not," said Dan Cassino, the executive director of the FDU Poll.
"Sherrill has to be non-traditional enough to be taken seriously as a candidate, and traditional enough to not be threatening. Like Ginger Rogers, she has to do everything male candidates do, but backwards and in high heels," he said.
If elected, Sherrill would be only the second female governor in New Jersey history, and the first Democrat. Republican Christie Todd Whitman served as governor from 1994 to 2001.
Sherrill's advertising campaigns and speeches have focused heavily on her military service as a Navy fighter pilot, and that she is a mother of four.
Republicans and men in general tended to favor traditional gender roles more highly than women or Democrats, the poll found. But even Democrats who placed a higher value on traditional gender roles were more likely to favor Ciattarelli than voters who placed a lower value on traditional roles for men and women.
"People who are tied to traditional gender roles tend not to like female candidates for governor or President," said Cassino. "Traditionally masculine men see female candidates as a threat; traditionally feminine women see them as violating norms of what women are supposed to do."
Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements about men's behavior. The statements included: "I think a young man should try to be physically tough, even if he's not big"; and "Men should not be too quick to tell others that they care about them."
Those responses were used to calculate what pollsters call the "Men's Role Norm Inventory." A low score means the respondent had less acceptance of traditional gender roles, while a high score meant a higher acceptance.
The poll was conducted between Oct. 9 and 15, and has a margin of error of 3.4%.