New Poll: Chris Christie More Unpopular Than Ever in N.J.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, gives a thumbs up to the crowd as he is introduced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, at a rally at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., Monday, March 14, 2016.
Donald Trump may be on the verge of capturing the Republican nomination for president. But his chief campaign surrogate continues to drop in popularity in his home state.
Per a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll, the governor’s approval rating has hit a new low. Only 26 percent of New Jersey voters have a favorable opinion of Chris Christie, down three points from February and a huge drop from the soaring popularity Christie enjoyed after Hurricane Sandy.
“Among the New Jersey politicians we poll, Governor Christie continues to generate the most negativity among voters, even more so than the state’s currently indicted senator [Robert Menendez,” Ashley Koning, assistant director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University, said in a release. “Not even Christie’s backing of Donald Trump has helped him with New Jersey Republicans, who give Trump higher ratings than Christie and are now more likely than ever to vote for Trump come June.”
Christie’s endorsement of Trump may have surprised and upset his political allies, but according to an Eagleton Poll release, it’s not the reason for his low ratings in the Garden State:
Among those unfavorable toward him, 15 percent point to his character, personality, or attitude as the main reason behind their negative rating; another 7 percent specifically say something about his confrontational, bully-like persona. An additional 15 percent cite Christie’s overall job as governor and governing style. Fourteen percent say he is dishonest and untrustworthy. Other negative reasons include his lack of care for New Jersey (9 percent), his handling of education in general and teachers specifically (8 percent), his policy decisions and actions (7 percent), his ineffectiveness (6 percent), and his handling of unions and state workers (4 percent). Just 3 percent mention something about his support for Donald Trump as a reason for their unfavorable rating, as do another 3 percent about Christie’s role in the 2016 presidential election, in general.
Fifty-six percent of Republicans are favorable toward the governor, a seven-point decline since February. Thirty-four percent say they’re unfavorable. On the Democratic side, Christie has an 87-percent unfavorable rating.
In a way, these numbers don’t matter much — Christie is in his second term. But although the Washington Post names names Christie his top potential VP pick, low ratings in his home state certainly can’t help the governor if he wants to be Trump’s vice presidential choice. Two former Christie appointees also go on trial in September for their role in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
The poll surveyed 866 New Jersey adults (738 registered voters) on cell phones and landlines between April 1st and 8th. Interviews were done in English or, if requested, Spanish.
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