Candidate Christie getting cold shoulder from NJ residents

As he takes some time off from his presidential campaign to deliver the State of the State address, a new poll finds Gov. Chris Christie is getting low marks from New Jersey residents.

 

Krista Jenkins, director of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll, said 59 percent of Garden State residents surveyed disapprove of Christie’s job performance and 60 percent say the state is on the wrong track.

“If things go as well in New Hampshire as his supporters are hoping, he’s likely to receive more scrutiny in the press,” she said. “But unhappiness among his constituents, coupled with serious concern about the direction of the state are trends any candidate would like to avoid.”

Most Garden State residents believe Christie has been unable to distinguish himself from his predecessors, Jenkins said.

“Almost two-thirds or 62 percent say he’s been no different than past governors, with 11 percent who rate him as better than average, and about a quarter or 24 percent who say he’s been among New Jersey’s worst,” she said.

And more than half of those polled in New Jersey said Christie’s White House run has done nothing to change the image of the state to outsiders