poll

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie leads in Quinnipiac University's Boardwalk Poll: more likely voters, 40%-38%, say they "would rather stroll the Atlantic City Boardwalk" with him over the incumbent Governor, Jon Corzine.  Men prefer strolling with Christie (44%-35%), while women would rather stroll with Corzine (40%-38%).  Republicans (72%-12%), Independents (47%-29%), and White voters (46%-34%) would rather walk with Christie, while Democrats (66%-15%), and Black voters (57%-18%) would rather join Corzine.

 

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Republican Christopher Christie has a 12 point lead, 53%-41%, over Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released early this morning.  Christie’s lead has grown from 50%-40%, where a Quinnipiac poll had him just one month ago.  In a three-way matchup, Christie’s lead drops to nine points, 47%-38%, with independent Christopher Daggett, a former state Environmental Protection Commissioner, at 8%.

Corzine has upside-down favorables/unfavorables of 34%-58%, and an upside-down job approval rating of 33%-60% -- his worst since entering public office in 2000. Christie’s favorable rating is at 39%-20%. 

“Good news for Christopher Christie:  As voters focus on the campaign, he increases his lead slightly in the match-up against Corzine,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.  “Good news for Gov. Jon Corzine:  President Barack Obama is coming in and Obama’s job numbers among New Jersey voters are good.”

On one of Gov. Jon Corzine’s top criticisms of Christie – his ties to former President George W. Bush – 77% of voters think Corzine should focus on state issues; just 10% of voters think it is a fair criticism of Christie, who worked on the first Bush campaign and then was the President’s pick to serve as the state’s top prosecutor.  Among Independents, 83% say Corzine should focus on the issues.

Christie leads among Independents by a solid 64%-28% margin.  That lead shrinks to 54%-24% with Daggett in the race.  Daggett, who qualified last week for state matching funds and will have at least $1 million to spend on his campaign, gets 13% of the Independent vote, 6% of the Democratic vote, and 4% of the Republican vote.  He is still virtually unknown, with 92% of state voters not knowing who he is.

“Politicians love to ponder who a third candidate hurts.   Christopher Daggett helps Corzine a little.   But virtually nobody knows him.  Let’s see what happens if his campaign starts to attract attention beyond the politics groupies,” Carroll said.

By a wide margin, voters think Christie (50%-36%) would do a better job than Corzine at handling the state budget. 

On Christie’s claim that Corzine hasn’t kept his campaign promises, 45% of voters say it is a fair criticism, while 44% blame the economic downturn.

Voters, 54%-30%, have more confidence in Christie’s ability to clean up corruption.

More than half the voters (57%) say that Christie’s experience as the U.S. Attorney prepares him to serve as Governor, while 30% say it has not.  Among Independents, it is at 62% yes and 28% no.

Most New Jerseyans (58%) say that Corzine’s background as head of a major Wall Street investment banking firm has made no difference in his performance as Governor.  20% say his experience has made him a better Governor, and 19% say it has made him worse.

When Corzine finances his own campaign, 46% of voters believe it makes him “free from being beholden to lobbyists and other special interests,” but 44% view it as an unfair advantage.  Democrats seem to back Corzine’s self-funding, while GOP voters oppose it.  Among Independents, 55% say self-funding campaigns is an unfair advantage.

An internal poll conducted for the Corzine campaign by The Mellman Group has Christie running four points ahead of the Governor, 42%-38%, with 6% for Daggett.


CLICK HERE TO READ THE QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLLING MEMORANDUM
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Quinnipiac University will release a new poll on Tuesday morning featuring a head-to-head matchup between Gov. Jon Corzine and his Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. 

A June 10 Quinnipiac poll, taken just after the gubernatorial primary and before Corzine's recent $800k media buy, had Christie leading Corzine by ten points, 50%-40%. 

The poll will also include new job approval numbers for Corzine, who was upside-down at 36%-56% last month.

The poll will also include approval ratings on President Barack Obama, who will be in New Jersey on Thursday to campaign for Corzine.  Obama had a 68%-25% approval rating among New Jerseyans, according to the June 10 Quinnipiac poll.

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On a conference call with campaigns supporters, Gov. Jon Corzine and his campaign strategist, Steve DeMicco, said their internal poll has Republican Christopher Christie ahead by four percentage points, 42%-38%, with independent Christopher Daggett at 4%.  In a two-way race, Corzine and DeMicco said Christie's lead widens to six points.

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The Republican Governors Association has released a poll showing former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie running fifteen points ahead of the Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.  The poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday for the RGA by Basswood Research, is the one referenced in a Star-Ledger story today that says that Barack Obama's campaign appearance in New Jersey next week will have "virtually no impact on the governor's race."

The poll of 600 likely general election voters was conducted July 6-7 by Basswood Research (margin of error = +/- 4%): 

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Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine by seven percentage points, 46%-39%, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released today.  Christie led Corzine by thirteen points, 51%-38%, in a Rasmussen poll just after Christie won the Republican primary.

But with leaners included, Christie's lead grows to twelve points, 53%-41%.

Voters, by a 55%-32% margin, say they trust Christie more than Corzine to cut their taxes

Corzine has upside-down job approvals of 40%-58%, and upside-down favorable of 43%-46%.  Christie has a favorable rating of 57%-36%.  Just 16% of voters strongly approve of Corzine's job as Governor, while 44% strongly disapprove.   Among those voters who say they could still change their minds, 60% disapprove of Corzine's performance including 38% who strongly disapprove.

Corzine's favorable are up two points from the June poll; Christie's are up four. 

The pollster pointed to Corzine's TV ads attacking Christie's ethics as a reason for the tightening of the race. 

"The other good news for Corzine is that 42% of voters statewide are either undecided or say they could change their minds," Rasmussen reports wrote.  "However, the flip side of that is good news for Christie: Nearly six-of-10 voters say they've made up their minds. Among those voters, Christie leads by 16.

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After nearly six months as President, Barack Obama enjoys a 61%-29% approval rating among New Jersey voters, according to a new Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released this morning.  That is a slight drop from his 66%-22% approvals in an April poll.

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Democrats and Republicans are slightly more likely to root for the Yankees than the Mets or Phillies than Independents, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today showing 44% of state voters interested in baseball say the New York Yankees are their favorite baseball team.  Democrats and Republicans are essentially the same when it comes to picking a baseball team.

21% of New Jersey voters say the New York Mets are their favorite team, and 20% say it is the Philadelphia Phillies.

Among Democrats: Yankees 46%, Phillies 21%, Mets 20%.
Among Republicans, Yankees 44%, Phillies 21%, Mets 20%
Among Independents: Yankees 41%, Mets 22%, Phillies 20%

"Dress New Jersey baseball fans - men and women, young and old - in Yankee pinstripes.  There are just about as many Yankee fans as there are Phillies and Mets backers combined.  Only in the Philadelphia suburbs do the Phillies dominate," said Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 

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Noteworthy in the Quinnipiac University poll is that Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie has favorables of 36%-15% among likely general election voters, despite the Mid-Atlantic Democratic Leadership Fund spending an estimated $1.2 million on network television ads aimed at building his negatives.

A June 15, 2005 Quinnipiac poll taken a week after the gubernatorial primary showed Democrat Jon Corzine leading Republican Douglas Forrester by ten points, 47%-37%.  Among likely general election voters, Forrester had favorables of 20%-14%.  Corzine was at 33%-21%, and as a U.S. Senator he had job approvals of 51%-32%. Corzine's favorables are now upside down at 35%-53%, and approvals are upside down at 36%-56%.

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U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) has approval ratings of 44%-36%, and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) has approvals of 40%-31%, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.  Lautenberg, who faces a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews in 2008, has a 64%-17% approval rating among Democrats.  Menendez is at 59%-15% among Democrats. 

 

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