New Jersey's voters remain almost evenly divided on Republican Gov. Chris Christie's approval ratings, with 48 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving, a new
Quinnipiac University poll reveals, as his popularity continues a year-long slump that started with the Bridgegate scandal.
"Gov. Christie’s job approval numbers continue on the tepid track that started with the Bridgegate story, a dramatic contrast with the heady 2013 days when he was swooping to re-election,” said Maurice Carroll, assistant poll director.
Republican voters still overwhelmingly approve of Christie, by 82-12 percent, as do independent voters, by 51-45 percent. Democrats, however, disapprove of him by 74-20 percent.
Respondents gave Christie negative scores for how he handles key issues in the state, including 41-51 percent for how he handles the economy and jobs; 42-48 percent for handling the state budget; and 39-50 percent for handling education.
The poll, which was conducted on Dec. 3-8, during the same time period when a joint New Jersey legislative committee
cleared him of wrongdoing in the Bridgegate scandal.
The panel said there was no conclusive evidence that showed he was aware of lane closures onto the George Washington Bridge leading into New York City, which was ordered by some of the governor's top aides in what investigators said was an elaborate political payback scheme.
Quinnipiac surveyed 1,340 registered voters for the poll, which carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Bridgegate is still also haunting the governor's presidential aspirations. Before the scandal, Christie had been the clear frontrunner in the polls for potential 2016 GOP nomination candidates.
However, now he falls behind both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in overall polling, according to a
RealClearPolitics summary.
Christie is also struggling to overcome complaints by Democrats and Republicans alike that he can
act like a bully who has often used his political clout to keep his enemies in check.
Last week, also at the same time the poll was being conducted, the governor traveled to Calgary Canada to tout the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline, in a move that was widely regarded as one to garner Republican support and lay some groundwork for his potential 2016 run for the White House.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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