New Jersey voters approve of the job Gov. Chris Christie is doing in the Garden State and want him to remain right where he is instead of joining the Republican presidential ticket as Mitt Romney’s running mate — which could prove to be a losing proposition.
In a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 50 percent of 1,582 Garden State registered voters surveyed between May 9 and May 14 say the GOP ticket would lose to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden even if Romney picks Christie to join him in the fall campaign.
Only 42 percent gave the Republican duo a fighting chance against Obama/Biden.
At the same time, New Jersey voters said, by a margin of 52 percent to 36 percent, that their outspoken chief executive would not be satisfied “playing second fiddle” to Romney. Only those who identified themselves as Republicans, by a margin of 49 percent to 39 percent, said he would like it.
It seems women, at least in New Jersey, would also prefer that Christie stays home. His presence on the ticket, according to the poll, would drive women in the state to vote for Obama and Biden by a margin of 56 percent to 38 percent.
“There is a big gender gap with Christie on the ticket,” the poll found.
“Gov. Christopher Christie is an in-the-spotlight soloist, in Trenton and on the national campaign trail. Would he be content to play second fiddle as vice president? New Jersey voters doubt it,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
“They know their combative ‘Jersey Guy’ . . . and they continue to give him high marks on the way he does his job,” he said.
“Color New Jersey blue,” Carroll added. “President Barack Obama beats [former Massachusetts] Gov. Mitt Romney, and Christie’s presence on the Republican ticket doesn’t help Romney.”
Still, when the New Jersey voters were asked which of the four candidates — Obama, Romney, Biden, or Christie — they liked best, Christie came in second to Obama by a margin of 53 percent to 39 percent.
Obama scored the best favorability rating at 54 percent to 41 percent, and Romney scored the most negative rating at 35 percent to 41 percent. Biden did better than Romney, with 41 percent saying they like him and 34 percent saying they don’t.
Overall, most New Jersey voters said they approve of the job Obama is doing by a margin of 52 percent to 44 percent.
They also approved of the job their governor is doing, giving Christie a 57 percent to 38 percent approval rating.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.