A majority of respondents in a new poll say it's unlikely that Gov. Chris Christie didn't know about a plan to close lanes to a heavily traveled bridge between New Jersey and New York.
The Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll out Tuesday finds 53 percent of respondents doubt Christie's claim that he didn't know about the scheme in advance.
“A defining characteristic of the governor has been the public’s perception that he can be relied upon to speak honestly about issues that are both easy and difficult. At least on this issue, the public seems to be saying that, on balance, there’s more to the story than he’s so far revealed,” said Krista Jenkins, director of PublicMind and professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
The Republican governor's approval rating also has fallen 14 points since October. Forty-eight percent of respondents approve of Christie, while 39 percent disapprove.
The decision by Christie aides to back up traffic in a North Jersey town is being watched by 85 percent of survey respondents.
The poll of 734 registered New Jersey voters was taken from Jan. 20-26 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
