Poll: Christie Viewed More Favorably Than Rubio Among All Voters But Trails with Republicans

I love politics. Always have. But after living through the 2012 GOP Primary, Save Jerseyans, I’m psyched to be three years away from another borish Republican debate.

I’m sure you agree!

Three years out, Chris Christie finds himself in a strong position relative to the rest of the hypothetical field according to a new national registered voter poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Naturally a lot can still change. And as predicted by your Blogger-in-Chief, the same Obama-related interactions that have elevated Christie’s brand in the minds of Indies and Dems have also potentially damaged his standing among Republican primary voters outside of the Garden State.

The numbers:

Right now, the FDU poll found Christie’s name recognition to be superior to FL Senator Marco Rubio’s by 12-points, 68% to 56%, among all voters. Christie is also viewed more favorably than Rubio by 9-points, 55% to 46%, though their unfavorable rating is about the same (20% and 21% respectively).

Christie also performs best of any Republican tested among Democrats and Independents (related: a recent PPP (D) poll found the New Jersey Governor with the best Hispanic favorability rating).

Only Rick Santorum (79%) and Jeb Bush (80%) boast higher name recognition, but in both cases, higher name recognition correlates to significantly higher unfavorable ratings (37% for Santorum, 30% for Bush).

However… and this is a big however… while 59% of Republicans polled view Christie favorably, 74% hold a favorable opinion of Rubio, representing a 15-point advantage for the Cuban American legislator. Bobby Jindal is also performing better among Republicans than Christie (70%), and the other potential GOP candidates have roughly the same GOP favorability rating (Santorum, Bush and Christie are separated by only 1 or 2 points). Christie unfavorable GOP rating it’s bad (18%), yet still higher than Rubio’s (5%).

What does it all mean?

If FDU’s results are accurate, Chris Christie is the Republican Party’s strongest likely candidate for the 2016 general election. He’ll nevertheless have to win a primary where non-New Jersey Republicans are a little skeptical post-Sandy and several articulate competitors are well-positioned to give him a run for his money.

Sound familiar?

Click here to view the full polling results and data tables.

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8404 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.