The closer it gets to campaign season, the less zeal New Jersey voters have for their home state governor, Chris Christie.
First there’s how he matches up against Hillary Clinton in this Monmouth University poll: not favorably. Clinton tops him 58-32 percent.
But given the state’s blue-ish tendencies, that may not be as surprising as how he fairs against Jeb Bush. Asked who would make a better president, New Jerseyans favor Christie by only four points over Bush, 40-36, with another 15 percent saying neither would be a good president. Even among NJ Republicans, Christie underperforms against Bush, 46-37.
The bottom line is, Christie has been getting steadily more unpopular in his home state, despite bouncing back a bit from the Bridgegate scandal.
Gov. Christie’s job rating currently stands at 48% approve to 44% disapprove among New Jersey residents and 47% approve to 46% disapprove among the state’s registered voters. This marks an increase in his disapproval numbers since the fall, when his rating stood at 46% approve to 39% disapprove among all residents and 46% approve to 42% disapprove among voters.
Perhaps that’s partly because 66 percent of NJ residents think Christie is more focused on his future ambitions than he is on doing his job as governor (25 percent).