Christie “comeback” polling woes signal it’s time to come back home

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

I told you that the Christie comeback narrative was baloney last week, Save Jerseyans, and not because I’m happy about Chris Christie’s fate ’cause believe me, I’m not, but I’ve also never viewed lying about a problem as a viable strategy to help correct it. Regular readers know this and I’m not budging no matter how many people would like to wring my neck over it.

Let’s take a quick look at this week’s new poll results for those still living in denial:

Three new national polls dropped – MonmouthNBC/WSJ and CNN/ORC. The Governor went from 2% to 3% in the Monmouth survey, 3% to 1% in the NBC one, and 3% to 4% in CNN’s estimation. Monmouth Pollster-in-Chief Patrick Murray’s report notes how “[o]verall, the three GOP candidates who have never held political office continue to command a majority of support among Republican voters – combining for 52% in the current poll.” Jeb Bush is also continuing to raise cash at a decent clip notwithstanding lackluster polling of his own. So there’s no real signs of improvement for Christie whatsoever, at least not nationally anyway.

christie 9-11But what about up in chilly New Hampshire? Since this is a state-by-state battle? And where he’s gone all-in, practically living there? 

All three October 2015 polls show Christie in 9th place with 3%.

He’s running out of time and money, folks. Fast. Solid debate performances haven’t moved the needle either, nor have an impressive amount of on-the-ground retail campaigning.

So I’m going to say what I’ve been screaming for months (here and elsewhere) just ONE more time: the Governor should come home, now, even if he doesn’t want to drop out, and spend the next two weeks trying to elect as many NJ GOP candidates as possible. His latest presidential campaign messaging strategy – attacking Congress and POTUS equally over the growing federal leadership deficit – isn’t working because Republican persuadable voters don’t want to D.C. to work. They want it to STOP. What’s more, the base doesn’t care about his own leadership resume because they’re convinced it’s been the wrong kind of leadership. They don’t trust him, fairly or not.

None of this is rocket science!

Coming home and being a team player? I’m not saying it’s an elixir, Save Jerseyans, hardly, but at least it’s the right thing to do (which still counts for something in my book) especially given that our legislative candidates are being outspent 10-to-1, and it might cause some folks in important primary/caucus states to see him in a different light if he succeeds in helping pull a few extra GOP Assemblymen across the finish line.

Anyway: what could it hurt? Nothing else is working. As predicted.

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Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 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.

7 Comments

  1. If Gov Christie were to turn NJ into a shall issue state concerning firearms.
    I believe his polls would greatly increase.

    This can be done, and still maintain public safety. Criminal and mental health checks stay in place.

    Qualification with a firearm stays in place.

    Change justifiable need to self defense.

  2. Before we got Obama many voters trusted their candidates and did not pay much attention to vetting them themselves. They trusted the media to do that for them and were preoccupied with their lives, so politicians like Christie relied on wooing them with rethoric and it worked the first time. Now there is no more trust and people are hurting. So they are looking at these candidates very closely and many more people are getting engaged. There in lies Christie’s problem. His record and work ethic sucks. People in NJ are hurting and leaving. Taxes, Common Core, Liberal appointees, you name it, he has been no friend to Conservatives or the Constitution. People are vetting him and his record and they do not like what they see. A big empty barrell that makes a lot of noise. That’s it.

  3. Other thought is that if you are an R running for office this time do you want Christie by your side?? Two years ago R’s wanted to be associated with him, had thier photo with him in their literature and ads ect. I saw a D flyer the other day that had their R opponenents picture with the gov on their (D) literature

3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

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