Gov. Christie sets a new record — for his disapproval rating

A new survey finds Gov. Chris Christie’s approval numbers continue to sink lower and lower.

The just released survey by the Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll finds 26 percent of registered voters approve of Christie’s leadership, while a full two-thirds, 66 percent, disapprove.

“This is the lowest number of approvals and the highest disapproval we’ve ever recorded for Gov. Christie,” PublicMind poll director Krista Jenkins said.

She pointed out “Gov. Christie likes to be identified as someone with thick skin and a penchant for being tough, and with so few voters supportive of him it looks like these traits are things that should serve him personally as well as politically.”

The survey also finds half of all voters reject everything about the governor.

“Forty-nine percent say they find the entire Christie package unlikeable from his personality to his policies,” Jenkins said. “This is the most number of voters we’ve recorded who find nothing about the Governor to like these days.”

The survey finds 29 percent like either his policies or his personality, but not both, and a fifth,only 20 percent, say they like everything about Christie.

“There was a time not too long ago when the governor enjoyed the opposite — half saying they liked everything about him. If anything, the Republican governor was warmly embraced by some of his even natural foes. Today, we’re seeing a wholesale reversal of fortune,” she said.

The poll also finds many New Jerseyans are expressing concern about the direction the state is headed in.

“Sixty-nine percent say things are moving in an unhealthy direction, with a only 23 percent who are comfortable that the state’s in a good place,” Jenkins said.

She added “contributing to the governor’s declining approval in the state seems to be his recent endorsement and work on behalf of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Forty-six percent say the work on behalf of Trump has hurt their opinion of the governor, with 47 percent who say it has made no difference. Only six percent say it actually helped his image.”

"The alignment with Trump may be beneficial to his long term political prospects, but it’s not doing much to move the needle back home. For many, cozying up to Trump appears to hurt the Governor even more," Jenkins said.

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