Respondents]used words like ‘arrogance,’ ‘rudeness’ and ‘abrasive’ to explain the turnaround.
By Janie Velencia The Huffington Post (1/13/15)Approval ratings for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) are the lowest they have been since he took office in 2010, a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll finds.
The survey finds that just 37 percent of New Jersey voters have a favorable view of Christie. This number has fallen seven points since Rutgers-Eagleton issued a similar poll two months ago. A 52 percent majority of voters say they disapprove of his job as governor.
This is far from the support Christie experienced in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. ANovember 2012 Quinnipiac poll found that Christie’s approval ratings were at 72 percent, which was the highest rating ever recorded for a New Jersey governor.
Things started to turn a corner in January 2014, however, when it was reported that members of Christie’s administration had shut down lanes of the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 as an act of alleged political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. Christie was implicated in the scandal, known as “Bridgegate.” His approval dropped to 53 percent that January. In December 2014, Christie was cleared of involvement with “Bridgegate” after a state investigation.
But during 2014, New Jersey voters grew more unsatisfied with how the governor was handling taxes and the economy, according to a series of Rutgers-Eagleton polls. Unemployment rates above the national average and a state budget deficit of over $800 million added to the tension.
Last week, Christie took a trip to London that many pundits have said seemed to be more about campaigning than state business. A Feb. 2 New York Times article raised questions about previous trips the governor had taken that were paid for by other people …
