“Crap” Poll Gives Christie High Marks

The pollsters that Governor Chris Chrisite called “crap” last month released the first post Hurricane Sandy independent poll this morning.  The results give the governor extremely high marks for his handling of the superstorm which ravaged the Jersey Shore and impacted 66% of all New Jersey residents.

On October 9, Christie reacted to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll that indicated improving approval ratings but soft support for his reelection by calling the Eagleton polls “crap.”

“It’s never good, it’s never accurate. When it’s good for me, it’s not right, when it’s bad for me it’s not right,” Christie said according to PolitickerNJ.  He said he would not comment about future Eagleton polls.

But Sandy was a live changing event.  Don’t be surprised if Christie has something honest and refreshing to say about today’s polling results when questioned by a reporter.

92% of the respondents said that Christie handled Hurricane Sandy well.  69% said he handled it “very well” and 23% rated him “somewhat well.”

The other 8% are cranky and don’t like fleece. (MMM’s assessment, not a poll result)

81% answered that Christie and President Obama showed the “needed cooperation and bipartisanship” in handling the aftermath of Sandy.  12% said Christie went too far in his praise of the president.

Christie’s ovrerall favorability rating now stands at 65%, 67% with registered voters.

49% of Democrats, 70% of Independents and 89% of Republicans now have a favorable impression of the governor.  Only 38% of Democrats report an unfavorable impression of him, down from 68% in early October.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, considered the only Democrat with a chance to defeat Christie in the 2013 general election, has not been active on twitter since the poll was released.

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Menendez Leading Kyrillos in Rutgers-Eagleton Poll

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this morning indicates that State Senator Joe Kyrillos is “virtually unknown” to the statewide electorate.

80% either have no opinion (50%) or are unsure (30%) of Kyrillos. 11% have a favorable opinion, 9% have an unfavorable opinion.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez leads Kyrillos in a head to head match up by 44% to 22% with 26% unsure and 7% saying they won’t vote.

In a generic Democrat vs Republican match up, the Democrat wins 46% to 34%.

The poll’s sampling was slightly skewed in favor of Democrats.  Of the 914 registered voters Rutgers-Eagleton surveyed, 37% were Democrats, 20% were Republican and 43% were Independent.  The actual partisan break down of New Jersey’s registered voters is 34% Democrat, 22% Republican and 45% Independent, according to a February 18 report by Labels and Lists.   The survey was taken February 9-11.

Kyrillos views the poll in a positive light for his campaign.  His campaign manager, Chapin Fay, issued the following statement:

“With gas prices 50% higher than when Bob Menendez was elected to the Senate and unemployment skyrocketing from 4.7% to 8.3%, it’s no surprise Bob Menendez continues to struggle in the polls. His favorable/unfavorable rating is an anemic 37-24 and he is 44% on the ballot, which is Jon Corzine territory. When voters learn how Joe Kyrillos helped Governor Christie turn New Jersey around, they will support his effort to do the same in Washington.”

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Rutgers-Eagleton Releases Stale Polling Data

The Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University released a poll this morning indicating that most New Jersey voters do not think President Obama deserves a second term.

The data Eagleton relied on in the press release is 10 days to 2 weeks old. The polling was conducted between August 9 and August 15.

The poll is meaningless now.    Of course Obama’s numbers were low August 9-15.  S&P had just downgraded our debt on  August 5 and the stock market was in a free fall.

I’d much rather know how New Jersey voters feel about the President now, after the “Death Star” bus tour, the Martha’s Vineyard vacation, Joe Biden’s remarks about China’s population control policies and the demise of the Gaddafi regime in Libya.

The age of the poll will not stop the NJ mainstream media from reporting it as “news.”

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