Optimism Dips in NJ, But Few Blame Christie: Poll

A new poll shows New Jerseyans are becoming less optimistic about the direction of their state, but they aren't blaming Gov. Chris Christie.

The Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll out Tuesday finds 49 percent of respondents think the state is headed in the right direction, an 8-point drop since June. That compares with 34 percent who believe it's on the wrong track, a 6-point gain.

The same poll finds Christie's approval rating is 58 percent, which is virtually unchanged since June. Perhaps that's because nearly two-thirds say their quality of life is about the same as when Christie became governor in 2010.

“Garden State voters seem to be saying that the governor bears a good amount of responsibility for the state’s health, but the same credit or blame for their personal well-being is unrelated to Christie’s stewardship,” said Krista Jenkins, director of PublicMind and professor of political science at Fairleigh
Dickinson University.

The telephone survey of 700 registered voters was conducted Aug. 21-27 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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