Voters still say Lautenberg is too old

The age issue doesn't go away.

New Jersey voters approve 42 – 34% of the job U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is doing, but say 46 – 36% that he does not deserve to be reelected next year.

According to a Quinnipiac Poll released today, Lautenberg is too old to effectively serve another six years, voters say 54 – 40%. Republicans say 62 – 30% that Lautenberg is too old, a feeling shared by independent voters 55 – 42%. Democrats split 47 – 48% on the subject.

By a narrow 39 – 36% margin, voters prefer Lautenberg over an unnamed Republican challenger, according to Quinnipiac.

"New Jersey voters put a premium on effectiveness and we expect that they will apply that standard to his reelection next year," said Steve DeMicco, chief consultant to the Lautenberg campaign, who particularly highlighted what the poll describes as the senator's lead "over an unnamed opponent."

Voters approve 40 – 14% of the job U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is doing, but voters say 30 – 24%, with 46% undecided, that they would not like Christie, a Republican, to run for the U.S. Senate next year. Voters say 31 – 22%, with 47% undecided, that they would not like him to run for Governor in 2009.

"U.S. Attorney Chris Christie gets good marks from voters for his corruption fighter role in New Jersey, but that does not seem to translate into political power as voters say they are not particularly enthusiastic about him running for either the U.S. Senate next year or for Governor the year after," Quinnipiac pollster Clay Richards said.

"The poll shows that Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who many voters say is too old to run for another term, would be vulnerable to a strong Republican candidate next year," he added.

From September 18 – 23, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,230 New Jersey voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.