October 4, 2011 - Christie Coulda' Been A Contender, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Ran Neck And Neck With Romney, Obama Word format New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie shot to the top of the Republican presidential field, and ran neck and neck with President Barack Obama in a 2012 general election matchup, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll of 2,118 American voters, including 927 Republicans and Republican leaners, concluded Monday night. Among Republican voters, Christie and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are tied at 17 percent each, followed by 12 percent for businessman Herman Cain, 10 percent for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and no other candidate above 7 percent. With Christie out of the race, Romney gets 22 percent, followed by Cain with 17 percent and Perry at 14 percent. In a 2012 presidential matchup, Christie gets 45 percent to President Obama's 42 percent. Christie won 87 - 5 percent among Republicans and 45 - 37 percent among independent voters, while Democrats backed Obama 86 - 8 percent. "This survey shows Gov. Christie is walking away from the possibility - at least today - to be elected president of the United States. Whether he would have won the GOP nomination or the election will never be known, but the data indicate he had a serious chance to win it all," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. From September 27 - October 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,118 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Republican primary includes 927 voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 2. (Republicans and Republican Leaners) If the 2012 Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain for whom would you vote? REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS Tot Men Wom Perry 14% 13% 14% Palin 9 8 11 Gingrich 8 11 6 Romney 22 19 24 Bachmann 3 4 2 Santorum 3 3 2 Paul 6 7 6 Huntsman 1 1 - Cain 17 23 10 DK/NA 18 11 25 3. (If Republican or Republican Leaner) Suppose Chris Christie becomes a candidate for President. If the 2012 Republican primary for President were being held today, and the candidates were Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain, for whom would you vote? REPUBLICANS/REPUBLICAN LEANERS Tot Men Wom Christie 17% 21% 14% Perry 10 8 11 Palin 7 6 7 Gingrich 7 10 5 Romney 17 14 20 Bachmann 3 3 3 Santorum 2 3 2 Paul 6 7 5 Huntsman 1 1 1 Cain 12 18 7 DK/NA 18 10 25 7. If the 2012 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Chris Christie the Republican for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hisp Obama 42% 5% 86% 37% 38% 46% 34% 87% 49% Christie 45 87 8 45 46 43 52 6 36 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 3 2 2 3 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 1 2 3 1 3 1 1 DK/NA 8 4 5 13 10 7 8 5 14 9. Is your opinion of Chris Christie favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hisp Favorable 23% 37% 9% 23% 27% 18% 26% 6% 20% Unfavorable 17 6 28 15 17 16 14 28 17 Hvn't hrd enough 59 57 61 60 55 64 59 65 62 REFUSED 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 Demographic Summary
