Christie job rating slips, N.J. poll finds

A new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll shows a dip in Gov, Chris Christie’s job approval ratings.

Forty-six percent of New Jersey residents surveyed now approve of Christie’s job performance. That’s down from 50 percent in June.

The governor appears to be weathering the legislature’s investigation into the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

“People continue to say that the governor has not come clean, but, at the same time, they don’t put a lot of faith in the legislative committee that’s investigating this,” Murray said.

About 60 percent say that the committee should shut down its operations right now, while only a third of those polled say it should continue its inquiry.

Christie’s out-of-state travels and talk about his possible presidential run are having an effect on his job ratings, Murray said.

And those factors have resulted in 56 percent of New Jersey residents polled saying they believe Christie is more concerned with his own political future than he is in governing the state.