Christie rating dips to all time low in Eagleton poll
Almost two years after defeating Democrat Barbara Buono by a 22 percent margin in the November 2013 gubernatorial election, Gov. Chris Christie has received his worst approval rating by New Jersey voters, according to the latest poll from the Eagleton Institute of Politics's Center for Public Interest Research Polling.
According to the poll, 53 percent of New Jersey voters indicated having an unfavorable view of their governor.
A press release from the CPIP revealed only 37 percent of voters in the Garden State view him favorably, a figure that reflects a seven-point decline in the past two months.
The decline in Christie’s approval rating has occurred in conjunction with the governor’s expected presidential campaign for the 2016 election season, according to the press release.
Winning New Jersey in 2016 would be a difficult challenge for Christie, said David Redlawsk, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling.
According to a previous article in The Daily Targum, Redlawsk said it would be extremely challenging for any republican to win the Garden State, simply because of how many Democrats live in it.
“[New Jersey] is a very democratic state and even with a Republican governor the odds are very high that a Democrat would win this state,” he said. “I think it’s still a very difficult task for [Christie] to win New Jersey.”
The press release attributed the governor’s presidential ambitions, attitude and the January 2013 “Bridgegate scandal" to the collapse of his voter favorability. This shows a contrast between how he was viewed during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“[Some voters] used words like ‘arrogance,’ ‘rudeness’ and ‘abrasive’ to explain the turnaround from his high-flying post-Sandy days,” Redlawsk said.
According to the press release, only 42 percent of voters said they approve of how he governed New Jersey, a figure that contrasts the 52 percent who said they disapprove of his job performance.
Although it would be beneficial to have popular support from his home state, Redlawsk said having a sour approval rating from New Jersey voters is not a major cause for concern at the present time.
Establishing himself on a national stage should be the governor’s top priority, Redlawsk said.
“It certainly hurts Christie with New Jerseyans, but that’s not a terribly relevant point right now,” he said. “If he’s going to run for president, he’s got to establish himself on the national stage as that’s far more important for him.”
Dan Corey is a Rutgers Business School first-year student majoring in pre-business and journalism and media studies. He is an acting Associate News Editor of The Daily Targum. Follow @_dancorey for more stories.
