Two new polls of New Jersey are out Tuesday — the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll and the Quinnipiac poll — and they both show that Gov. Chris Christie, one of the very first important Republican officeholders to get behind Donald Trump’s candidacy, has gone from hero to zero in New Jersey.
It feels like ancient history, but there was a time when Christie was giving his typical tough-talking news conferences, telling hecklers how it was, etc. He was viewed as a pragmatic moderate who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind — someone conservatives liked just enough that he had a bright future as president. He lost favor with many conservatives when he got behind Trump in the primaries, and just before the election the Bridgegate convictions reminded voters in his state of a scandal that has dogged him ever since his re-election.
Now the voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Christie’s job as governor — 77 percent disapprove while 19 percent approve, per Quinnipiac –because 71 percent believe he is dishonest and 71 percent believe he knew about Bridgegate. The FDU poll’s approval numbers are almost identical: 73 percent disapprove, 20 percent approve. In both cases, a majority of Republican voters disapprove of the job Christie is doing as governor.
The sad thing for New Jersey Republicans is, he’s probably going to leave his state party weaker than he found it. The next election is coming up in 11 months, in 2017.
