April 20, 2011 - Obama Tops Christie On Every Measure In New Jersey, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Big Gender Gap Leaves Governor's Approval Under 50% Word format New Jersey voters do not believe Gov. Christopher Christie's claim that he would beat President Barack Obama in a 2012 White House run and back the president over the governor 52 - 39 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. President Obama also tops Gov. Christie in job approval and likeability. Gov. Christie's split 47 - 46 percent job approval compares to a 52 - 40 percent job approval in a February 9 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. In today's survey, men approve of Christie 56 - 38 percent as women disapprove 53 - 38 percent. Christie gets an 80 - 16 percent approval from Republicans and a 55 - 36 percent approval from independent voters. Democrats disapprove 75 - 17 percent. Obama gets a 51 - 45 percent job approval. Garden State voters like Obama more than they like his policies. Given four options: 46 percent like Obama as a person and like most of his policies; 29 percent like him as a person but dislike his policies; 2 percent dislike him as a person, but like his policies; 20 percent dislike him and his policies. Christie does not do as well: 38 percent like Christie as a person and like most of his policies; 15 percent like him as a person but dislike his policies; 8 percent dislike him as a person, but like his policies; 34 percent dislike him and his policies. "Forget the White House for now, Gov. Christopher Christie says, and New Jerseyans pretty much agree with him as they back President Barack Obama by a hefty margin," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Voters don't believe Gov. Christie 60 - 33 percent when he says he can beat President Obama. They do believe Christie 53 - 41 percent when he says he's not running," Carroll added. "How about at home in Trenton? Christie's job approval numbers are only narrowly positive. And there's a real gender split over this 'Jersey guy' governor: Men like him a lot; women don't," Carroll added. Other Approval Ratings Gov. Christie has a higher approval rating than other elected officials: Voters approve 44 - 42 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is doing, a tie; Voters approve 42 - 40 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez is doing, a tie; Voters disapprove 31 - 26 percent of the job State Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney is doing, with 43 percent undecided; Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver gets a split 22 - 21 percent approval rating, with 57 percent undecided. Voters disapprove 53 - 26 percent of the job the Assembly is doing and disapprove 55 - 30 percent of the State Senate, the highest disapproval ratings ever for both bodies. "New Jerseyans don't know - and don't much approve of - their Legislature and its leaders," Carroll said. "Sen. Robert Menendez has started cranking up for his 2012 re-election campaign and it's not too soon. His job approval is a low split." "Bully," "arrogant," "good," "aggressive" are among words offered when voters are asked, with no suggestions given, to describe Gov. Christie in one word. Answers include: Bully - offered by 140 voters Arrogant - offered 41 times Good - 41 Aggressive - 39 Strong - 35 Tough - 34 Determined - 30 Honest/Honesty - 28 Excellent - 27 Bold - 16 Courageous/Courage - 16 Trying - 15 Effective - 13 Forceful - 12 "Quinnipiac University polls last year found New Jersey voters trying to decide whether their new governor was a bully or an effective leader," Carroll said. In a June 17, 2010, survey, 44 percent called him a leader and 43 percent called him a bully. From April 12 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,532 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio 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. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Christie is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 47% 80% 17% 55% 56% 38% 58% 9% Disapprove 46 16 75 36 38 53 36 85 DK/NA 7 4 8 9 5 9 6 6 Philly Union HvKids Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore HsHold PubSch Approve 35% 47% 60% 37% 53% 35% 46% Disapprove 59 47 32 53 39 60 47 DK/NA 6 6 7 10 7 5 7 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Christie is handling his job as Governor? Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Nov 11 Aug 19 Jun 17 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 Approve 47 52 46 51 51 44 Disapprove 46 40 44 38 36 43 DK/NA 7 8 10 10 13 12 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Stephen Sweeney is handling his job as State Senate Majority Leader? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 26% 25% 26% 27% 26% 25% 24% 28% Disapprove 31 29 29 31 36 27 30 39 DK/NA 43 46 44 41 37 49 46 33 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 23% 27% 29% 23% 25% Disapprove 32 31 26 40 26 DK/NA 45 42 45 37 49 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Stephen Sweeney is handling his job as State Senate Majority Leader? Apr 20 Feb 09 Nov 09 Aug 19 2011 2011 2010 2010 Approve 26 25 20 17 Disapprove 31 26 28 28 DK/NA 43 48 52 55 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheila Oliver is handling her job as Assembly Speaker? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 22% 14% 29% 22% 21% 23% 19% 43% Disapprove 21 22 12 27 27 16 22 18 DK/NA 57 64 59 51 52 61 60 38 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 27% 24% 19% 19% 22% Disapprove 14 23 23 21 20 DK/NA 59 53 58 60 58 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheila Oliver is handling her job as Assembly Speaker? Apr 20 Feb 09 Nov 09 Aug 19 2011 2011 2010 2010 Approve 22 22 19 19 Disapprove 21 19 22 19 DK/NA 57 59 59 63 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state assembly is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 26% 25% 28% 24% 26% 25% 27% 24% Disapprove 53 49 52 56 56 50 52 59 DK/NA 22 26 20 20 18 25 21 17 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 26% 26% 24% 28% 23% Disapprove 47 55 55 54 50 DK/NA 27 19 21 18 27 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state assembly is handling its job? Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Nov 09 Aug 19 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 Approve 26 32 25 28 28 Disapprove 53 45 52 51 45 DK/NA 22 22 23 21 27 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state senate is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 30% 30% 37% 25% 29% 31% 31% 32% Disapprove 55 53 49 59 59 51 54 58 DK/NA 15 18 13 16 12 18 16 10 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 33% 29% 32% 32% 25% Disapprove 51 56 54 54 58 DK/NA 17 15 15 13 17 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state senate is handling its job? Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Nov 09 Aug 19 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 Approve 30 34 31 29 30 Disapprove 55 46 50 53 46 DK/NA 15 20 19 18 24 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Menendez is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 42% 28% 65% 34% 37% 48% 37% 64% Disapprove 40 54 19 48 50 31 43 15 DK/NA 18 18 16 17 13 22 19 21 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 51% 41% 41% 39% 44% Disapprove 34 43 39 41 38 DK/NA 16 16 20 21 18 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Menendez is handling his job as United States Senator? APPROVE....... DIS.. High Low High Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Jun 17 Feb 09 Feb 20 Jun 17 2011 2011 2010 2010 2011 2008 2010 Approve 42 44 38 38 44 30 38 Disapprove 40 36 42 43 36 31 43 DK/NA 18 20 20 18 20 39 18 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 44% 27% 68% 37% 38% 51% 41% 65% Disapprove 42 62 19 48 51 34 47 20 DK/NA 14 11 13 14 12 15 12 15 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 47% 46% 38% 47% 43% Disapprove 37 44 46 37 43 DK/NA 16 10 16 15 15 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as United States Senator? (*High approve also 55% Sep 1999 & Jul 1999) APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Jun 17 Jul 27 Feb 20 June 17 2011 2011 2010 2010 2000* 2008 2010 Approve 44 45 42 40 55 39 40 Disapprove 42 40 43 47 22 31 47 DK/NA 14 15 15 13 23 29 13 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 51% 17% 84% 43% 44% 57% 42% 93% Disapprove 45 81 13 52 53 37 54 5 DK/NA 4 2 4 5 3 6 4 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 62% 49% 46% 58% 41% Disapprove 33 45 52 39 54 DK/NA 5 5 2 4 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE....... DIS... High Low High Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Aug 19 Jun 10 Nov 09 Nov 09 2011 2011 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 Approve 51 55 50 47 68 46 46 Disapprove 45 41 45 47 25 50 50 DK/NA 4 4 5 6 7 4 4 9. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very satisfied 2% 4% 1% 1% 2% 3% 3% 1% Smwht satisfied 31 43 27 29 32 30 33 24 Smwht dissatisfied 34 30 37 36 34 34 33 44 Very dissatisfied 32 22 33 33 31 33 30 31 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 - 1 1 Philly Union HvKids Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore HsHold PubSch Very satisfied 3% 2% 4% 2% 3% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 22 30 33 32 36 20 32 Smwht dissatisfied 39 35 35 29 31 31 33 Very dissatisfied 33 32 28 37 30 47 33 DK/NA 3 1 - - - - - TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? (*High also 71% Feb 1999) VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 21 Nov 09 Jun 17 Dec 26 Jun 17 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2000* 2010 Very satisfied 2 2 2 4 2 10 2 Smwht satisfied 31 34 30 28 22 61 22 Smwht dissatisfied 34 37 36 32 36 21 36 Very dissatisfied 32 26 31 35 39 7 39 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 10. What one word best describes your impression of Christopher Christie? NOTE: Based on registered voters: Figures shows the number of respondents who offered each response: these numbers are not percentages. This table reports only those words that were mentioned at least five times. Bully 140 Arrogant 41 Good 41 Aggressive 39 Strong 35 Tough 34 Determined 30 Honest/Honesty 28 Excellent 27 Bold 16 Courageous/Courage 16 Trying 15 Effective 13 Forceful 12 Great 11 Fat 10 Leader/Leadership 10 Terrible 10 Okay 9 Capable 8 Fair 8 Tenacious 8 Decisive/Decisiveness 7 Disapprove 7 Guts/Gutsy 7 Incompetent 7 Obnoxious 7 Pompous 7 Satisfied 7 Conservative 6 Dislike 6 Dissatisfied 6 Dynamic 6 Forthright 6 Awesome 5 Blowhard 5 Competent 5 Confident 5 Disappointed 5 Disappointing 5 Disgust 5 Horrible 5 Inflexible 5 Mediocre 5 Opinionated 5 Overbearing 5 Realist/Realistic 5 Republican 5 Selfish 5 Unfair 5 Terrific 5 DK/NA 83 11. Which one of the following statements comes closest to the way you feel about Christopher Christie: A) I like Christopher Christie as a person and I also like most of his policies B) I like Christopher Christie as a person but I don't like most of his policies C) I don't like Christopher Christie as a person but I do like most of his policies D) I don't like Christopher Christie as a person and I also don't like most of his policies Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Person/Policies 38% 73% 12% 42% 46% 31% 47% 8% Person/Not policies 15 10 20 14 13 17 13 28 Policies/Not person 8 5 7 10 9 7 8 3 Not Pol/Not person 34 10 57 27 28 39 28 55 DK/NA 5 3 4 7 3 6 4 6 Philly Union HvKids Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore HsHold PubSch Person/Policies 22% 37% 47% 35% 48% 26% 37% Person/Not policies 15 20 8 18 12 18 14 Policies/Not person 7 9 10 7 6 7 10 Not Pol/Not person 51 31 27 36 29 46 35 DK/NA 4 4 8 5 4 4 5 TREND: Which one of the following statements comes closest to the way you feel about Christopher Christie A) I like Christopher Christie as a person and I also like most of his policies B) I like Christopher Christie as a person but I don't like most of his policies C) I don't like Christopher Christie as a person but I do like most of his policies D) I don't like Christopher Christie as a person and I also don't like most of his policies? Apr 20 Feb 09 2011 2011 Person/Policies 38 41 Person/Not policies 15 17 Policies/Not person 8 9 Not Pol/Not person 34 27 DK/NA 5 6 12. Which one of the following statements comes closest to the way you feel about Barack Obama: A) I like Barack Obama as a person and I also like most of his policies B) I like Barack Obama as a person but I don't like most of his policies C) I don't like Barack Obama as a person but I do like most of his policies D) I don't like Barack Obama as a person and I also don't like most of his policies Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Person/Policies 46% 10% 79% 37% 37% 53% 37% 86% Person/Not policies 29 45 12 36 35 23 33 7 Policies/Not person 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 5 Not Pol/Not person 20 40 4 23 24 18 26 0 DK/NA 3 2 2 4 2 3 3 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Person/Policies 58% 45% 37% 52% 39% Person/Not policies 20 32 32 25 32 Policies/Not person 3 2 - 5 1 Not Pol/Not person 15 19 29 17 24 DK/NA 4 2 2 2 4 13. Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President... If the 2012 election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Christopher Christie the Republican, for whom would you vote? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Obama 52% 11% 89% 42% 43% 59% 40% 94% Christie 39 79 7 44 49 30 50 2 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 1 4 3 3 3 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 1 4 2 3 2 2 DK/NA 5 5 2 6 4 5 5 1 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Obama 68% 50% 39% 60% 43% Christie 23 41 48 31 47 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 4 3 2 1 4 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 3 3 3 2 DK/NA 3 4 8 5 4 14. Christopher Christie has said that he will not run for President in 2012, do you believe him or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 53% 67% 43% 56% 60% 47% 58% 37% No 41 28 51 38 35 47 36 58 DK/NA 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 47% 53% 58% 50% 56% No 49 42 36 41 38 DK/NA 4 5 6 9 6 15. Christopher Christie has said that if he did run for President in 2012 he would beat Barack Obama? Do you agree or disagree with Christie? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Agree 33% 61% 11% 37% 39% 28% 40% 5% Disagree 60 32 85 55 55 64 52 88 DK/NA 7 7 4 8 6 8 8 7 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Agree 20% 35% 42% 29% 39% Disagree 74 57 51 66 56 DK/NA 6 9 7 6 6 16. Which party would you like to see control the New Jersey State Legislature after the elections in November, the Democratic Party or the Republican Party? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Democrat 47% 7% 91% 33% 40% 54% 39% 85% Republican 39 88 6 41 49 30 49 3 DK/NA 14 4 3 25 11 16 12 12 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Democrat 68% 46% 31% 54% 41% Republican 24 41 49 31 46 DK/NA 8 13 20 15 14 TREND: Which party would you like to see control the New Jersey State Legislature after the elections in November -- the Democratic Party or the Republican Party? Apr 20 Feb 09 Jun 15 Sep 24 Jul 13 Jun 18 Apr 02 2011 2011 2005 2003 2003 2003 2003 Democratic Party 47 43 48 48 44 49 41 Republican Party 39 41 39 37 37 40 40 DK/NA 14 16 13 14 19 12 20
