This poll is absolutely brutal for Chris Christie
Those and more distressing findings for the newly formed Christie campaign come from a new Monmouth University poll of the Garden State released Thursday. Some highlights:
- A clear majority (57%) of New Jerseyans think Christie should resign now that he is officially running for president, compared with 37% who think he should be allowed to stay in office.
- More than seven-in-10 Garden State residents (71%) think he cannot effectively both govern the state and run for president.
- His approval rating in the state sits at just 36%, compared with 58% who disapprove.
- By the same 36-58 split, most voters do not think he is honest and trustworthy.
- Christie trails Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, 49-32, in a hypothetical general-election matchup.
- Christie also trails his Republican opponents in primary matchups. Republican voters in the state think both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) would make better presidents. And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker draws even with Christie.
Then there's this: Just 27% of New Jersey residents say Christie would make a good president, compared with 69%. Christie is well aware of this fact, and he has attributed it in an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly to the notion that "a lot of those people ... want me to stay" as governor.
But Monmouth followed up with poll respondents in an attempt to fact check Christie's claim. It found that just 5% who said Christie wouldn't make a good president said they gave that response because they hope he stays on as governor. On the other hand, 89% confirmed for a second time that they really think he would make a bad president.
"I'm not sure how the governor defines 'a lot,' but any common sense usage of the term would have to be significantly greater than five percent," said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.