A new poll finds that New Jersey voters have a love-hate relationship with a couple of the Republican presidential hopefuls.
Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind polling has found that Gov. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush are tied for the most support among Republicans in the state with 18 percent each. Donald Trump trails them with 11 percent.
But Trump and Christie are also among the most disliked.
Poll director Krista Jenkins says 27 percent of registered Republicans say they would never support Trump, and 22 percent said they will not support Christie no matter whom the Democrats nominate.
"In a crowded field like the Republican crop of possible nominees, the fact that Gov. Christie evokes passions on both sides at least sets him apart from the others who seem to be generating a collective yawn," Jenkins said.
Christie's declining voter approval numbers in New Jersey will make it difficult for him, Jenkins said, adding that it's far too early to tell who will emerge as the Republican nominee.
"Somebody may be up by a few percentage points, but when you have 13 or 14 people running, it's wide open at this point," she said. "And I think we're just going to have to wait and see how people do in the debates and whether they're even able to last that long through the debates."
