By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
Christie certainly seemed popular with New Jersey Republicans who attended his August fundraiser. However, in a Rutgers-Eagleton poll out today, 32 percent of New Jersey Republican say Donald Trump is their choice to be the party’s nominee, followed by Ben Carson and Marco Rubio at 13 percent, Ted Cruz at six percent, and Christie tied for fifth place with Carly Fiorina and Jeb Bush at just five percent.
“This is the first time that Gov. Christie has actually dipped into single digits with New Jersey Republicans. He was actually at the top of the list for New Jersey Republicans as recent as December 2014 when we last polled it, he was at 32 percent way ahead of anybody else in the field, and actually Mitt Romney was following him in December at 10 percent. Those numbers have changed drastically,” said Ashley Koning.
Among New Jerseyans of both parties, 67 percent think Christie should end his campaign, while just 27 percent think he should keep running.
We asked assistant poll director Ashley Koning what she attributes that to.
“It’s not 2016 itself. It’s not even really Donald Trump. Not necessarily the competition or his campaign. Voters are going back to what’s happening at home. They’re talking about things like what he’s doing or they feel he’s not doing back in the state, and also that attitude and character, those personality traits that have followed him since he first took office,” she said.
The Christie camp tells us they’re not concerned about this poll. They question its methodology and say polls go up and down, and that New Jersey Republicans will come around if the primary here next June means anything.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has gotten his first significant New Jersey endorsement from Republican state Senator Michael Doherty, a well-known conservative.
“I really like his foreign policy. I think most Americans are sick of the U.S. trying to control every corner of the world. And Donald Trump is saying smart things. In Syria, he’s saying, ‘Hey, what’s the matter if Russia is killing ISIS.’ I think that’s a good thing. He’s also saying maybe we shouldn’t have taken out Saddam Hussein, maybe we shouldn’t have taken out Gaddafi,” Doherty said.
Dohery notes that Christie wants to challenge the Russians for supremacy in Syria.
“I disagree. His saber-rattling, getting in the face of Putin and drawing red lines for a nuclear power, it’s a little crazy,” Doherty said.
If the people who know you best are no more enthusiastic about your candidacy than everybody else, you’ve got a problem. That’s the situation Christie is in, and there’s no sign he’s getting out of it, unless, as he seems to think, he can wait it out.