Tomorrow afternoon Chris Christie will be making his State of the State Address. While he will use the speech to set out his agenda for the coming legislative session and year, he will also be reminding the people of New Jersey of all the great things he has done for them already in such a short time. However, it seems that they really do not need much of a reminder.
In a state where registered Republicans are strongly outnumbered by both Democrats and unaffiliated voters, our conservative Governor enjoys a 53% approval rating according to the latest polling. Only 37% of New Jerseyans disapprove, and if you cut out public sector employee households, that number falls to 31% while approvals rise to an unheard of 60%.
While many on the left were hoping that Governor Christie would be hurt by the recent toll hikes that took effect on the turnpike and parkway, it seems that New Jerseyan’s across the state simply get it. They know that the toll hikes were the fault of Governor Corzine’s administration and not Governor Christie’s. The poll found that even those who take toll roads every day in New Jersey were just as likely to approve of Christie as those who do not take toll roads.
As for a bit of comparison, the poll also found that 44% of New Jerseyans feel that our state is on the right track, while at this point in the Corzine administration only 28% thought that we were on the right track. Additionally, Corzine never reached higher than 42% on this question, while Christie has been above that number virtually the entire time he has been in office.
Look for these numbers to continue to improve as Governor Christie continues his reform agenda to bring taxes and spending down in New Jersey.
