HomeMedford NewsEditorial: Thumbs up or down on Christie?

Editorial: Thumbs up or down on Christie?

Recent poll finds he is the least popular governor in the nation

Photo From Chris Christie Twitter Account (@GovChristie)

Written by Alan Bauer

New Jersey earlier this year was named the nation’s most moved-from state. Now it has another honor: Gov. Christie is the least popular governor in the nation.

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Earlier this month, Morning Consult’s poll revealed that 71 percent of us disapprove of the job Christie is doing. That’s five percentage points ahead of the runners-up: Kansas’ Sam Brownback and Connecticut’s Dan Malloy, both of whom are dealing with serious budget woes and, apparently, also have turned many of their home-state folks against them.

Christie’s poll numbers also trail Sen. Bob Menendez, who historically has maintained decent popularity figures even after being indicted on corruption charges.

Christie shows that a lot can change in four years. In 2013, he raced to a second term in Trenton, capturing 60 percent of the vote. Democrat Barbara Buono, in a traditionally Democratic state, mustered only 38 percent. And Christie was generating a ton of positive buzz about his eventual foray into presidential politics.

Then stuff happened. Most notably, probably, was “Bridgegate.” Then there was the failed presidential run and follow-up support for Donald Trump, who captured only about 41 percent of the N.J. vote. The public pension system is a mess. When it comes to the state’s credit rating, Moody’s has made more cuts than an overworked barber. You probably can sprinkle in a few other events as well.

While it might be a few months too early to seriously debate Christie’s legacy, his relationship with N.J. voters indeed was the best of times and the worst of times. Place his approve/disapprove poll numbers for the past four years on a line graph and it would look like a giant X.

Maybe there’s still time for Christie to change the narrative. He’s off to a strong start with his fight against opioid abuse, for example. Perhaps when it’s his time to leave the governorship — and some of the political issues that have dogged him fade from memory — New Jersey voters will have a more favorable opinion.

But, for now, it looks like a vast majority of residents are ready for him to just go away.

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