Quinnipiac Poll: New Jersey Voters Approve Of Christie More Than Obama, Menendez or Booker

New Jersey Voters Disapprove of the State Legislature, 36-48%

Governor Chris Christie by Belmar Town Hall. photo by Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie at Belmar Town Hall. photo by Art Gallagher

A Quinnipiac Poll released this morning indicates that, despite the beating he has been taking in the local and national media since January, Governor Chris Christie has higher approval ratings than President Barack Obama, Senator Bob Menendez and Senator Cory Booker, among New Jersey voters.

Quinnipiac didn’t spin the poll that way in their narrative, but that is what the numbers indicate. Most of the media coverage about this poll will be negative for Christie. Too many reporters and editors read the spin and not the numbers.

There is bad news for Christie in this poll. His approval rating has dropped to 49-44% since January when it was 55-38%.

82% of Republicans and 54% of Independents approve of Christie’s job performance. Only 23% of Democrats give the Guv love.

The Governor’s bully rating is higher than ever before. Voters are now evenly split 48-48 on whether he’s a leader or a bully. In January they said he was more of a leader by 54-40 margin.

56% of voters think the Mastro Report, the internal investigation commissioned by the Governor’s Office that exonerated Christie from any involvement in the Bridgegate scandal was a “whitewash.” Voters are split 46-46 over whether the legislative investigation into Bridgegate lead by Assemblyman John Wisniewski and Senator Loretta Weinberg is a legitimate investigation or a political witch-hunt.

Voters have a net negative impression of the State Legislature that crosses all party lines. Republicans disapprove of legislature 40-45, Democrats 40-43 and Independents 33-53. The Legislature’s overall approval numbers are negative 36-48.

President Obama still has a net positive approval rating in New Jersey, barely. 49% approve and 48% disapprove. Democrats approve of the President, 84% to 13%. Everyone else disapproves. Republicans disapprove of Obama 13-86, Independents 38-58.

Senator Cory Booker’s numbers reveal significant weakness. 47% of voters approve of his job performance in Washington since he was elected to complete the late Senator Frank Lautenberg’s term last October. 25% disapprove and 28% don’t know. Only 47% say Booker deserves to be reelected. Yet, if the election was held on April 2-7 when Quinnipiac called, the voters would have reelected Booker over an unnamed Republican, 50%-31%. All of the Republican candidates for the GOP nomination to oppose Booker have names, but even Quinnipiac’s pollsters apparently don’t know those names.

Booker is the only Democrat in the Quinnipiac Poll who had positive approval numbers with Independents. 41% of Independents approve of Booker’s performance. 29% don’t approve and 31% don’t know.

Senator Bob Menendez fared worse than Christie, Obama and Booker among the 1,356 New Jersey voters Quinnipiac called, but better than the State Legislature.

43% approve of Menendez’s performance, 39% disapprove and 18% don’t know. Menendez is upside down with Independents 33%-47% with 19% clueless. Among Republicans Menendez fails 25%-56% with 18% clueless.

New Jersey voters have never thought Christie would make a good president according to Quinnipiac. But those who do think he would be a good president have increased significantly since Quinnipiac first asked the question in 2010. At the end of Christie’s first year as governor, 25% said he would make a good president, 63% said he would not. In today’s poll, 35% said he would make a good president, 57% said he would not.