Gov. Chris Christie’s approval rating is still high following the Bridgegate scandal, but he’s losing ground with a key part of his base.
Gov. Chris Christie’s approval rating is still high following the Bridgegate scandal, but he’s losing ground with a key part of his base.
A new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll out on Monday found that 59% of New Jersey voters approve of the job Christie is doing, with 32% disapproving, according to a press release of the poll.
The GOP is siding with Christie—a full 89% approve of the job he’s doing despite the scandal—but a key part of the governor’s base is losing faith: Christie’s approval among independents dropped from 73% a month prior to 62%.
Independents have long bolstered Christie’s approval ratings: In October, a poll by Rutgers-Eagleton found that 68% of independents said they approved of his work, seven points higher than the governor’s overall approval rating at the time.
Christie’s independent base is one of his most unique selling points as a Republican and a key advantage he has against Democrats in 2016 polls, so it’s this number that may best indicate how the ‘Bridgegate’ scandal will affect the governor’s political future.
Down six months from a month prior, the latest approval rating is the first time since Superstorm Sandy sent the governor’s approval rating sky high that it has fallen below 60%.
The poll was conducted from Friday, January 10th to Sunday, January 12th of this year, beginning just two days after news broke that top Christie aides had orchestrated a massive traffic jam in Fort Lee as political retribution.
The poll found New Jersey voters to be paying close attention to the revenge traffic story—83% are following it—and few think the governor told the full story during his nearly two hour, apology press conference last week.
A strong majority of New Jersey voters, 80%, think more staffers will be implicated and a third of voters think Gov. Christie was involved directly.
However, New Jersey residents appear willing to give Christie the benefit of the doubt for now 62% say they believe the governor when he says he wants a full inquiry and 67% say their trust in the governor was not shaken.
The poll does not account for Christie’s latest potential black eye: on Monday, New Jersey Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone announced that the federal government would launch an investigation into whether the governor used federal aid money earmarked for Sandy for his political gain.
The poll was conducted by telephone and has a margin of error of +/- 4.2%.