New Jersey Approval of Christie Hits All-Time High

Gov. Chris Christie is gaining popularity in the Garden State, with 50 percent of New Jersey voters giving him a thumbs up for the first time since he took office in 2010 — an all-time high, Politico reported.

The Republican governor, an oft-mentioned top vice presidential candidate, saw a 4-point increase in his favorability rating since late March, the Rutgers-Eagleton poll found, according to Politico. The 50 percent favorability rating is an all-time high for Christie.

"After some weakening between November and March, Governor Christie’s favorability rating has rebounded to as positive as we’ve seen," David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton poll, told the Newark Star-Ledger. "Despite recent controversies over plans for Rutgers and less-than-positive economic news, voters are trending toward more positive ratings for the governor and the state. But more improvement will probably require more voters to think things are getting better, not just standing still."

According to the poll, Christie’s favorability increase comes mostly from male voters, who gave Christie a 7-point favorability hike with 56 percent of men approving of Christie’s performance overall. His approval rating went up 2 points among women since March. About four in 10 voters, 39 percent, have a negative view of Christie. He also saw a 12-point boost in favorability among independents, from 43 to 55 percent.

At the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) gathering in Chicago last week, Christie trailed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as the first choice of conservative activists as a running mate for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney this fall. Rubio received 30.4 percent of the first-place votes from CPAC delegates to Christie’s 14.2 percent.