Christie Reverses the Gender Gap

Women Approve of Christie More Than Men Do

Public Workers Give Governor High Marks

Guv Christie accepting Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long’s endorsement. Photo by Serena DiMaso. Taken with Tom Arone’s phone

Governor Chris Christie still looks to be cruising to reelection, according to a Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll released this morning.

Christie’s overall approval rating is 63%, according to Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.  The governor’s ratings are slightly stronger among registered voters, 65% of whom approve of his job performance. 86% of Republicans, 64% of Independents and 52% of give Christie high marks.

On the stump, Christie has been promoting how he has reduced the size of government in New Jersey since taking office. “There’s over 5000 fewer employees in state government today than when I took office, and over 20,000 fewer government employees across the state,” Christie says in a campaign video, “We promised to make government smaller, we’ve made government smaller.”  Despite these facts, 54% of public workers approve of Christie’s job performance compared to 37% who do not.

Since Superstorm Sandy, there has been virtually no “gender gap” in Christie’s approval ratings as measured by the Monmouth Poll.  In a poll released on September 27, 2012, one month before Sandy, men approved of Christie’s performance by a 61%-31% margin. Women approved by only 6 points, 47%-41%.  In Murray’s first post Sandy poll on Christie, in December, the gender gap closed. 68% of men and 66% of women approved in December.  The trend continued in the February poll with 69% of men and 70% of women approving of the governor.  In today’s poll, the gender gap exceeded the statistical margin of error for the first time since Sandy, with the surprising result that women approve of Christie more than men do. Women approve by a 65%-26% margin and men approve by 61%-27%.

If Murray polled a head to head match up between Christie and the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, State Senator Barbara Buono, he did not report the results today. He did report that 59% of registered voters think that Christie deserves a second term.

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FDU Poll: 55% of New Jersey voters approve of Christie but don’t know why

In the first poll conducted by their new Executive Director, Dr. Krista Jenkins, FDU’s Public Mind Poll found that 55% of New Jersey’s registered voters approve of Governor Chris Christie.  The electorate is divided over whether they like the governor for his personality or his policies.

36% say they like Christie and his policies, 29% don’t like him personally or his policies. 14% like his personally but don’t like his policies while another 14% like his policies but not his personality.

Christie suffers a gender gap.  61% of men approve of his performances compared to only 49% of women. 54% of men say the state is on the right track, compared to 44% of women.

FDU did not distinguish between registered voters and likely voters.

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