FDU Poll: 53 Percent Approve of Christie

According to the most recent statewide poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind research center, 53 percent of New Jersey voters approve of the way Gov. Chris Christie is handling his job, while another 36 percent disapprove.

It measures his approval rating at slightly better than the 49-39 percent the center saw when it polled on Christie's performance in November. An October poll put his rating at 51-37 percent.

“Voters are focused on finances, theirs and the state’s," Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll, said in a statement from PublicMind. "Voters didn’t get a tax hike at the state level as they did in past crises. The key is whether, or how much, they might get in local property tax hikes later this year or next.”

In October of last year, Patch asked New Jersey residents on video what they think of Christie, as a complement to that month's poll. That video is connected to this story.

The poll also asked New Jersey residents how they feel about past governors; Christie's favorable rating topped any on that list:

• Jim Florio's rating is 25-33 percent, according to PublicMind;
• Christie Whitman's rating was 39-41 percent;
• Jim McGreevey's rating was 23-48 percent;
• Jon Corzine's rating is 36-52 percent, which PublicMind says is an improvement from a 30-61 percent rating when Corzine left office one year ago;
• Richard Codey's rating is 37-11; while his favorable rating measured lower than Christie's, it's more than three times greater than his unfavorable rating.

Name recognition for state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who was acting governor during the recent blizzard, moved up four points since PublicMind's last poll. The center attributes that to the added attention he got during the storm. Sweeney's favorable rating moved up six points, from 9 percent to 15 percent.

“My guess is that people who saw Sen. Sweeney on the news thought he conducted himself very well, and people who already approved of the governor did not begrudge him a family trip to Disney World over the holidays or think he should have been shoveling snow instead," Wooley said.

Voters on both sides of the ratings equation tend to feel strongly, according to PublicMind: 28 percent have a “very favorable” opinion of the governor, while 27 percent  have a “very unfavorable" opinion. Of those polled, 17 percent rate his job performance as “excellent” while 23 percent rate his performance as “poor.” The poll also found and 28 percent of those asked “strongly” approve of him while 22 percent “strongly” disapprove.

PublicMind says public employee households are part of the explanation for low grades and strong feelings: 40 percent of voters from public employee household rate the governor’s performance as “poor” compared to just 17 percent among other households. Two-thirds of public employee households (67 percent) say the state is “on the wrong track” and a majority (54 percent) disapprove of the governor’s handling of his job in the poll.

Three of five voters (62 percent) continue to say the state should hold the line on spending even if many programs are reduced, while one in five (21 percent) say the state should raise taxes if necessary to support state programs, according to the poll. Among those who say “hold the line,” Christie’s approval rate is 67-23, according to the poll.  Among those who say the state needs to raise taxes to support its programs, Christie’s approval is 29-64 percent.

“Voters who are in an anti-tax and budget-cutting mood find that Christie has not disappointed them,” said Woolley. “Of course, people who object to budget cuts are the ones who are deeply disappointed.”

The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 802 registered voters statewide was conducted by telephone with both landline and cell phones from Jan. 3, 2011, through Jan. 9, 2011, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.