September 24, 2016
New Jersey's voters have made their opinion pretty clear – they don't like Gov. Chris Christie.
A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll shows that Christie is seen favorably by 23 percent of the state's registered voters, down three points since April 2015 and seven points since last year. The governor's favorability was just one-third of its peak in February 2013 while 67 percent of surveyors said they view him unfavorably, according to the poll released Monday.
The biggest source of their dissatisfaction? The state pension fund, for one. Just 15 percent approved of his administration's handling of the issue while 67 disapproved.
Twenty-seven percent approve his handling of the state's economy and jobs while 63 percent said they disapprove.
And in the midst of the state's Bridgegate scandal, where Christie is speculated to have known of the two-lane closure, 25 percent of surveyors said they approve of his handling of transportation and infrastructure while 65 percent said they disapprove.
“New Jerseyans are increasingly unhappy with the state and the way it is being run,” said Ashley Koning, interim director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University in a press release. “With Bridgegate unlikely to go away anytime soon, the Transportation Trust Fund and gas tax unresolved, and a still-struggling economy, it's no wonder that views on Gov. Christie and the state as a whole have slipped to new lows.”
The poll also found that the state's residents opposed expanded gambling in New Jersey. Forty percent said that casino gambling should be permitted elsewhere while 50 percent said it should be limited to Atlantic City, as it is currently.
New Jerseyians will be asked a similar question in a November to decide the fate of a proposed constitutional amendment.
On a brighter note, U.S. Senator Cory Booker's were positive. Fifty-five percent of surveyors are in favor of Booker, while 18 percent find him unfavorable. Twenty-seven said they had no opinion.
The poll was conducted between Sept. 6-10 with a random sampling of 802 adults from the state.
