Raleigh,
N.C. – PPP’s newest New Jersey poll finds Chris
Christie hard to beat in a hypothetical match up for next year’s Governor’s
race when pitted against Democrats Cory Booker, Barbara Buono, Richard Codey,
Bruce Springsteen and Steve Sweeney. Booker polled closest to Christie, 14
points behind, compared to former Governor Richard Codey, trailing by 22
points. State Senators Steve Sweeney and Barbara Buono fared worse against
Christie than The Boss did, with a 36 point spread for Springsteen, to
Sweeney’s 37 and Buono’s 40 point deficit. While the news for Democrats is
dismal, it’s not surprising- Christie’s approval has never been higher, at 67%.
What is surprising is how he
performed among women and Democrats. On the topic of Hurricane Sandy, women
approved his handling of the storm 91-8 and Democrats 90-9.
When asked who they would vote for President in
2016, Republican Primary voters chose Chris Christie, at 48%. Although
Republicans are somewhat ambivalent on whether they’d like to see Christie run
to President in 2016- 66% would like him to, as opposed to 35% who would not
like him to or are unsure- he performed significantly better than the runner up,
Marco Rubio, at 14%. Jeb Bush took the #3 pick with 10% and the bottom six
candidates received a total of 23% of the vote. Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee,
Condoleezza Rice and Rick Santorum all performed better among women than men,
with women favoring Christie 54-41.
Among Democratic Primary voters, Hillary Clinton
was the easy favorite at 58%. Andrew Cuomo and Joe Biden were tied for second
at 12% each. Among the two largest ideological demographics, respondents who
consider themselves “somewhat liberal” or “somewhat moderate”, Clinton swept
support with 65% and 52% respectively.
“Chris Christie is going to be heard to beat for
Governor next year,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But
New Jersey voters are still feeling ambivalent about a White House bid from
him.”
PPP
surveyed 600 New Jersey voters, 268 Republican Primary voters and 300
Democratic Primary voters from November 26th to 28th. The
MOE for the 600 NJ voters is +/-4%, the MOE for the 300 Democratic Primary
voters is +/-5.66% and the MOE for the 268 Republican primary voters is +/- 6%.
This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political
organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
General Election Toplines
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Chris Christie’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 67%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 25%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of how Chris
Christie handled Hurricane Sandy?
Approve …………………………………………………. 89%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Cory Booker?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 48%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Barbara Buono?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 9%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 72%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Richard Codey?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 43%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Bruce Springsteen?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 54%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Steve Sweeney?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 14%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 59%
Q8 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Chris Christie and Democrat Cory
Booker, who would you vote for?
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 50%
Cory Booker……………………………………………. 36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q9 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Chris Christie and Democrat
Barbara Buono, who would you vote for?
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 60%
Barbara Buono………………………………………… 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%
Q10 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Chris Christie and Democrat
Richard Codey, who would you vote for?
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 53%
Richard Codey ………………………………………… 31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q11 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Chris Christie and Democrat Bruce
Springsteen, who would you vote for?
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 61%
Bruce Springsteen …………………………………… 25%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q12 If the candidates for Governor next year were
Republican Chris Christie and Democrat Steve
Sweeney, who would you vote for?
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 57%
Steve Sweeney……………………………………….. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%
Q13 Would you like for Chris Christie to run for
President in 2016, or not?
Would like him to …………………………………….. 38%
Would not……………………………………………….. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q14 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Joe Biden?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 52%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q15 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Hillary Clinton?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 67%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%
Q16 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Andrew Cuomo?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 46%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%
Q17 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Joe Biden……………………………………………….. 41%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q18 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 52%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q19 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat Andrew Cuomo and Republican
Chris Christie, who would you vote for?
Andrew Cuomo ……………………………………….. 35%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q20 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 57%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 36%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q21 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 26%
Moderate………………………………………………… 35%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 20%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 10%
Q22 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 57%
Man……………………………………………………….. 43%
Q23 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 48%
Republican……………………………………………… 25%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%
Q24 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 12%
White …………………………………………………….. 69%
African-American …………………………………….. 14%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q25 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 42%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Democratic Primary Toplines
Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Cory Booker?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 62%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Barbara Buono?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 10%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 73%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Richard Codey?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 45%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 40%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Steve Sweeney?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 16%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 60%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Joe Biden?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 75%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 16%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Hillary Clinton?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 84%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Andrew Cuomo?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 57%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%
Q8 Who would you most like to see as the
Democratic candidate for Governor next year,
given the choices of Cory Booker, Barbara
Buono, Richard Codey, and Steve Sweeney?
Cory Booker……………………………………………. 46%
Barbara Buono………………………………………… 7%
Richard Codey ………………………………………… 23%
Steve Sweeney……………………………………….. 6%
Someone else…………………………………………. 7%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q9 Given the choices of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton,
Andrew Cuomo, Martin O’Malley, Deval
Patrick, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and
Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to
see as the Democratic candidate for President
in 2016?
Joe Biden……………………………………………….. 12%
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 58%
Andrew Cuomo ……………………………………….. 12%
Martin O’Malley……………………………………….. 2%
Deval Patrick…………………………………………… 2%
Brian Schweitzer ……………………………………… 0%
Mark Warner …………………………………………… 2%
Elizabeth Warren …………………………………….. 6%
Someone else/Undecided…………………………. 7%
Q10 If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for
President in 2016, who would you most like to
see as the Democratic nominee?
Andrew Cuomo ……………………………………….. 37%
Martin O’Malley……………………………………….. 3%
Deval Patrick…………………………………………… 4%
Brian Schweitzer ……………………………………… 1%
Mark Warner …………………………………………… 2%
Elizabeth Warren …………………………………….. 14%
Someone else/Undecided…………………………. 38%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 21%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 36%
Moderate………………………………………………… 34%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 7%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 2%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 57%
Man……………………………………………………….. 43%
Q13 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 10%
White …………………………………………………….. 70%
African-American …………………………………….. 14%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%
Q14 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 40%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 22%
Republican Primary Toplines
Q1 Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie,
Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Rand Paul,
Condoleezza Rice, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan,
and Rick Santorum, who would you most like to
see as the GOP candidate for President in
2016?
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 10%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 48%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 3%
Sarah Palin …………………………………………….. 1%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 5%
Condoleezza Rice……………………………………. 6%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 14%
Paul Ryan ………………………………………………. 7%
Rick Santorum………………………………………… 1%
Someone else/Undecided…………………………. 5%
Q2 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 2%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 8%
Moderate………………………………………………… 28%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 37%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 25%
Q3 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
Q4 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 32%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 39%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 29%