In the wake of his failed bid to win the GOP nomination for the 2016 presidential election, a new poll shows many voters have mixed feelings about Gov. Chris Christie's return to New Jersey, and more than half are unhappy with how the governor is handling the state's finances.

Governor Chris Christie delivers his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Address to the Legislature in the Assembly Chambers at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. (Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)
Governor Chris Christie delivers his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Address to the Legislature in the Assembly Chambers at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. (Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)
loading...

“Thirty-six percent of voters say that the governor will have a positive impact going forward, 27 percent say he’ll have a negative impact going forward, and 33 percent say he will have no impact on the state at all,” said Ashley Koning, the assistant director of the Rutgers Eagleton Poll.

She said the survey finds a majority of Republicans (51 percent) believe Christie will have a positive impact on the state, while 36 percent of Independents think that’s the case.

According to Koning, many New Jerseyans do not approve of Christie’s handling of several specific issues.

“We see that Gov. Christie does not hit the 50 percent mark among a variety of issues including the state pension, state budget, taxes, the economy, education, crime and drugs and transportation,” she said.

The poll finds 32 percent approve of the way Christie is handling the NJ budget, while 55 percent disapprove,

In addition, the poll shows that 23 percent of NJ residents like the way the governor is handling the state pension situation, while 62 percent are not happy, and only 30 percent approve of his handling of transportation and infrastructure, versus 58 percent who do not approve of the job he’s doing in that area.

Koning said the survey also found taxes is a front-burning issue for New Jersey voters.

“Twenty-eight percent of New Jersey voters approve of Gov. Christie’s job on taxes, versus 64 percent who disapprove of his job on taxes," Koning said.

Moving forward, many New Jerseyans are not exactly brimming with hope.

“About 6 in 10 voters say that the state is going off on the wrong track, and the state’s direction has actually been more negative than positive since back in March of 2014,” Koning said.

A total of 801 adults were contacted by telephone for the poll, which was conducted between Feb. 18 and Feb 23. The registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/-3.8 percentage points. Interviews were done in English and, when requested, Spanish.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM