New Jersey governor and Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie is being told by voters across the board in his home state to call it a day.
The establishment candidate, who once flew high in the GOP field, is down to just 5 percent support in the latest Rutgers-Eagleton poll of New Jersey voters. His favorability ratings are tanking, and nearly 70 percent of voters say he should end his campaign.
“Christie no longer has any home state advantage,” Ashley Koning, assistant director of the Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, said in a press release Thursday. “The voters who know him best blame not his competition, but what Christie himself is doing — or not doing — for New Jersey.”
Christie holds the No. 8 spot in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings. Most Garden State voters, according to the same poll, cite his record as governor and “tough guy” attitude as the leading causes of his decline since he announced his candidacy in late June.
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Though the two-term governor might like to think Donald Trump’s forceful presence in the GOP field has derailed his campaign, a majority of voters believe Christie would be faring “about the same” had Trump stuck to hosting the “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Just 5 percent of Christie’s constituents said their governor would be doing worse if Trump hadn’t joined the race, 32 percent said he’d be doing better, and 59 percent said he’d be in a similar position to where he stands now.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to lead Republicans in New Jersey with 32 percent support, despite having a net-negative favorability rating in the state of 55-31 percent. The billionaire businessman has climbed 11 percentage points since the last poll was taken in August.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tie for third place with 13 percent each among right-leaning voters, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (6 percent) and businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who is tied for fifth with Christie at 5 percent.
Establishment favorite Jeb Bush, who nabbed several wealthy donors from Christie’s campaign earlier this summer, now faces the same fate as his opponent. The former Florida governor has dropped from 10 percent to 5 percent support in the Garden State since August.
The Rutgers-Eagleton poll was conducted between Oct. 3-10 and includes responses from approximately 800 registered primary voters in New Jersey. Results contain a sampling error of 3.5 percent.
