The damage is sinking in. After weeks of scandals and revelations, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s favorability rating has plummeted.
A Rutgers/Eagleton poll released Wednesday found the Republican governor’s favorability rating has fallen to 46%, down 22 points from just before his reelection.
The governor who enjoyed sky-high favorability and approval ratings after Hurricane Sandy has been embroiled for weeks by allegations and investigations of wrongdoing and abuse of power.
His approval rating dropped slightly after news broke that allegations of his staff orchestrating a traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J. as political attribution—allegations he mocked in an abrasive press conference—were true. Now, after several weeks of additional allegations, like the ones from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer who told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki that the governor’s office had withheld Sandy relief funds in an attempt to get her to support a city development project the governor favored, the numbers are tanking even more.
Democrats have lost faith in the governor the most, followed by independents, while Republicans are mostly sticking by their embattled governor.
It’s a big blow to the governor many say had promise on a national stage, particularly because of his appeal to independents and Democratic voters.
Christie’s approval rating is down, too—15 points since November, when he handily won reelection—but he still has a majority of voters’ support, 53%.
Unsurprisingly, the group that disapproves of Christie the most? Commuters who use the George Washington Bridge at least once a week. Just 34% of commuters on the bridge favor the governor.
Jane Timm