New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has hit a historically low 20 percent approval rating, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll of registered voters in the state.
The poll was released just days after top Christie aides were found guilty of all charges related to the 2013 Bridgegate scandal. And although Christie has stated publicly that he had no knowledge of the controversial traffic stop, it looks like his connection to the incident may hurt him anyway.
Christie’s 20 percent approval rating is the lowest recorded since Rutgers began tracking in November 2012, even though support for him has steadily declined since the Bridgegate scandal broke. The governor had a 68 percent approval rating in November 2013, and has since lost support from nearly half of the people in New Jersey.
Similarly, the November poll found that only 19 percent of New Jersey registered voters have a favorable impression of Christie ― like his approval rating, this is the lowest this number has ever been. It’s down 4 points, from 23 percent in September 2016. In February 2013, 70 percent of New Jerseyites viewed Christie favorably ― his highest rating since Rutgers began tracking in 2011.
The majority of Democrats and independents hold an unfavorable view of Christie and disapprove of how his performance as governor, but Republicans are split. Forty-seven percent of registered Republicans in the latest survey said they approve of Christie, and 47 percent said they disapprove.
The figure is slightly different on favorable ratings, but still largely the same. Forty-seven percent of Republicans surveyed said they have a favorable impression of Christie, and only 43 percent said they have an unfavorable impression of him.
Christie also suffers from low approval ratings on specific issues. Sixty-eight percent said they disapprove of the way Christie is handling New Jersey’s economy and jobs, 77 percent disapprove of the way he’s handling taxes, 65 percent disapprove of the way he’s handling education and schools, and 73 percent disapprove of the way he’s handling transportation and infrastructure.
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