TRENTON – New Jersey voters staunchly back Gov. Chris Christie’s sharp criticism of congressional Republicans who delayed a vote on Superstorm Sandy aid, a new Quinnipiac Poll shows.

Christie’s rebuke of House leadership was deserved, N.J. voters say 79 – 15 percent, including 70 – 22 percent among Republicans, according to the poll. It should come as no surprise that Christie’s job approval rating hit an all-time high of 74 – 21 percent in the poll.

The approval breaks down as follows: 93 – 4 percent among Republicans, 56 – 37 percent among Democrats and 78 – 18 percent among independent voters.  Men approve 79 – 18 percent while women approve 69 – 24 percent.

That translates into voters saying 68 – 24 percent that Christie deserves re-election, the poll shows.

“ ‘Give ‘em hell, Chris!’ New Jersey voters say about Gov. Christopher Christie’s attack on House Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans when they delayed the vote on Superstorm Sandy relief,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a release accompanying the poll.

In the poll, Christie leads possible Democratic challengers by margins of 2-1 or higher:

• 59 – 30 percent over State Sen. Richard Codey;
• 63 – 22 percent over State Sen. Barbara Buono, so far the only declared candidate among elected Democrats;
• 61 – 25 percent over State Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

From Jan. 15 – 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,647 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.  Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.  The survey includes 616 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.