Most New Jerseyans polled give Christie a thumbs up on job as governor

A new poll shows a majority of New Jersey voters have a positive view of Gov. Chris Christie and the job he’s doing for the Garden State.

 

In the latest Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind Poll, 51 percent of the registered voters surveyed approve of Christie’s job performance. Poll director Krista Jenkins says that’s about the same level of support the governor has had throughout the year.

“Even though policy battles have come and gone, new ones have emerged, and New Jersey continues to have a pretty high unemployment rate certainly relative to the national average,” she said. Yet Christie “remains in good standing with a broad cross section of registered voters.”

It’s not just fellow Republicans who give the governor good marks; 55 percent of independents and 28 percent of Democrats approve of the job he’s doing. Jenkins says that means if Christie seeks re-election next year, he’ll begin his campaign in a position other governors would envy.

“If you look at these numbers and you compare how he’s doing relative to his peers across the country who are struggling to connect with people across the other aisle — despite very similar issues that are facing New Jersey, it looks like Gov. Christie is doing quite well,” Jenkins said.