April 20, 2015
On the crest of a potential presidential run, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is facing the lowest approval ratings in his state since he entered office.
The latest poll numbers from Quinnipiac University show that 56 percent of New Jersey residents disapprove of the job he's doing as governor, while only 38 percent approve of it. Even fewer said he would make a good president, with 65 percent saying he wouldn't and 33 percent saying he would.
While Christie does lead among other declared and potential Republican candidates in the state for the 2016 primary (22 percent, six points ahead of second-place Scott Walker), he trails Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton by a wide margin. In fact, Clinton at this point dominates any of the Republican hopefuls in New Jersey.
| Marco Rubio | Ted Cruz | Rand Paul | |
| Republican Candidate | 30 | 34 | 34 |
| Clinton | 58 | 54 | 54 |
| Chris Christie | Jeb Bush | Mike Huckabee | Scott Walker | |
| Republican Candidate | 36 | 33 | 30 | 32 |
| Clinton | 51 | 53 | 56 | 54 |
Clinton faired much better in the Garden State than in Pennsylvania, which is not surprising considering New Jersey is historically much more blue in presidential races.
RELATED ARTICLE: New Jersey voters souring on Christie as president
As for Christie, his weak numbers on the state level could be due in part to Bridgegate, as the same poll found a majority of respondents thought he had knowledge of the scandal. While he's the favorite among the state's Republicans for the 2016 nomination, that doesn't translate on a national level.
All of the latest national polls show Christie far from the front-runners. His recent proposal to overhaul the nation's Social Security system, which was seen by some as a way to spearhead his way back in to the national conversation, may damage his slim numbers more than it boosts them. To summarize the point made by FiveThirtyEight's Harry Enten, messing with elderly voters borders on political suicide.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted between April 9-14 and surveyed 1,,428 respondents. Of the respondents, 21 percent identified as Republicans, 35 percent as Democrats, and 37 percent as Independents. It had a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
