PolitickerNJ.com

Gov. Chris Christie campaigned with Tea Party-endorsed 6th District challenger Anna Little last night in Piscataway and intends to campaign again with her later this week. Christie has some inside intel on the race from his favorite pollster.

Republican numbers cruncher Adam Geller of National Research, Inc. shows Republican challenger Little with a shot to win in her challenge of a vulnerable U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch).

Commissioned by the Little campaign, Geller puts Pallone ahead of Little by one point, 44-43%, in a survey Geller conducted from Oct. 5-6.

The survey of 300 likely 6th Congressional District voters with a +/- 5.66% margin of error shows that district voters favor the generic Republican candidate by a margin of 43-39%. 

Pallone has a favorability rating of 42%, compared to 36% unfavorable. His job approval rating, according to the poll, is 35%, compared to 39% who disapprove. Among voters who have heard of both candidates, Little leads Pallone, 58-32%. Those with a "formed opnion" of both candidates give Little the lead, 66-27%. Among voters who are a self-reported "10" in vote likelihood, Little leads 48-40%. Among independents, Little leads 49-34%.

A Monmouth University poll last month showed Pallone with a comfortable 12% lead over Little. The incumbent also has a huge money advantage, leading the challenger $4.2 million to $200,000. By the end of the evening, most insiders in both parties dismissed the poll as a GOP head fake to get Pallone to dump more money into the race and weaken himself as a statewide U.S. Senate contender.