October 12, 2011 - New Jersey Women Warming To Gov. Christie, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Agree 8-1 With Gov's Decision Not To Run Word format New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie would have won, Garden State voters say, but they back his decision not to run for president 8-1. They seem glad to be stuck with him and give him a 58 - 38 percent job approval rating, his best score ever, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. A big swing from women lifts him from a 47 - 46 percent score August 17. Women approve of Gov. Christie 51 - 44 percent, a 25-point swing from a negative 37 - 55 percent in the August 17 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Men approve 65 - 32 percent, compared to 58 - 36 percent in August. Approval is 88 - 11 percent among Republicans and 65 - 30 percent among independent voters, while Democrats disapprove 67 - 29 percent. New Jersey voters say 84 - 10 percent that Christie made the "right decision" not to run for president with strong agreement among every group and in every region. But 66 percent of voters, including 76 percent of Republicans, say it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that Christie would have won the Republican nomination. And 56 percent of voters, including 29 percent of Democrats, say it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that Christie would have defeated President Barack Obama in 2012. The "Christie-for-President" talk was good for New Jersey, voters say 60 - 24 percent, including 42 - 36 percent among Democrats. And the governor's out-of-state political travels don't affect how they think about him, 62 percent say. "Overwhelmingly, his New Jersey neighbors thought Gov. Christopher Christie did the right thing in walking away from the presidential race - even though most voters think he could have won both the nomination and the White House," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "They think the governor's brief run as Republican flavor-of-the-week was good for New Jersey, and most aren't bothered by his out-of-state travels," Carroll added. "Trenton won't be the end of the political line for Gov. Christie, the neighbors predict 73 - 22 percent. "And there's nothing like some national attention to get the folks back home to appreciate you a little more. We don't know if it's cause and effect, but Christie's approval rating, especially among women, is way up." New Jersey voters like Christie as a person 59 - 26 percent, up from 50 - 35 percent in August. Women like him 53 - 29 percent and men like him 65 - 24 percent. Jokes about Christie being overweight are in bad taste, voters say 71 - 20 percent, and voters agree with the governor 72 - 24 percent, including 63 - 32 percent among Democrats, that political commentators who raise his weight as a political issue are ignorant. New Jersey voters also agree with Christie 74 - 19 percent, including 65 - 29 percent among Republicans, that he doesn't have the personality to be vice president. "Christie says he doesn't have the personality to be VP, and New Jersey voters agree. But a fair number, 45 percent, say he could be tapped to be the GOP running mate," Carroll said. New Jersey voters approve 32 - 24 percent of Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, with 44 percent undecided. She is qualified to take over as governor, voters say 34 - 29 percent, with 37 percent undecided. "It's a moot point, at least for now, but the question was out there: How would Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno measure up as governor? Okay, said a third; not okay, said another third; don't know, said another third," Carroll said. From October 5 - 10, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,186 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.9 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, 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. 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Christie is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 58% 88% 29% 65% 65% 51% Disapprove 38 11 67 30 32 44 DK/NA 4 2 4 5 3 6 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 49% 56% 55% 55% 71% Disapprove 46 40 40 42 24 DK/NA 4 4 5 4 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Christie is handling his job as Governor? (*Low approve also 44% Jun 2010) APPROVE....... High Low Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Oct 12 Jun 21 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* Approve 58 47 44 47 52 58 44 Disapprove 38 46 47 46 40 38 47 DK/NA 4 7 10 7 8 4 10 11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Stephen Sweeney is handling his job as State Senate President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 23% 21% 26% 24% 24% 22% Disapprove 29 25 30 31 33 25 DK/NA 48 54 44 45 43 53 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 18% 26% 13% 33% 24% Disapprove 28 27 30 31 29 DK/NA 54 48 56 37 47 12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheila Oliver is handling her job as Assembly Speaker? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 21% 14% 29% 20% 20% 23% Disapprove 23 24 20 28 27 20 DK/NA 55 62 51 52 54 57 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 27% 22% 14% 20% 21% Disapprove 22 25 28 17 23 DK/NA 51 52 58 62 56 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheila Oliver is handling her job as Assembly Speaker? (*Low also 19% Aug 2010) APPROVAL...... High Low Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Jun 21 Nov 09 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010* Approve 21 21 24 22 22 24 19 Disapprove 23 25 22 21 19 22 22 DK/NA 55 54 55 57 59 55 59 13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state assembly is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 29% 37% 28% 27% 30% 28% Disapprove 49 41 50 55 54 45 DK/NA 22 22 21 18 16 27 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 26% 28% 25% 31% 35% Disapprove 52 52 52 48 42 DK/NA 22 19 24 21 23 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state assembly is handling its job? (*Low also 25% Dec 2010) APPROVAL...... High Low Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Feb 09 Aug 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* Approve 29 25 27 26 32 32 25 Disapprove 49 55 51 53 45 45 55 DK/NA 22 20 22 22 22 22 20 14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state senate is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 29% 35% 27% 28% 31% 28% Disapprove 53 46 57 56 57 49 DK/NA 18 20 16 16 12 23 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 28% 30% 26% 34% 28% Disapprove 52 55 58 49 51 DK/NA 20 16 16 17 21 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state senate is handling its job? APPROVAL...... High Low Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Feb 09 Aug 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 Approve 29 27 31 30 34 34 27 Disapprove 53 57 52 55 46 46 57 DK/NA 18 16 17 15 20 20 16 18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kim Guadagno is handling her job as Lieutenant Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 32% 46% 21% 37% 35% 30% Disapprove 24 14 36 20 23 25 DK/NA 44 40 43 43 43 45 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 19% 33% 27% 33% 45% Disapprove 31 25 20 23 20 DK/NA 50 42 53 44 34 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kim Guadagno is handling her job as Lieutenant Governor? Oct 12 Nov 09 2011 2010 Approve 32 31 Disapprove 24 18 DK/NA 44 50 19. 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 Very satisfied 6% 13% 1% 7% 8% 6% Smwht satisfied 38 55 22 41 41 35 Smwht dissatisfied 28 19 35 29 24 33 Very dissatisfied 26 13 40 23 27 26 DK/NA 1 - 1 - 1 1 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very satisfied 4% 5% 6% 7% 10% Smwht satisfied 29 43 37 35 42 Smwht dissatisfied 31 28 29 28 25 Very dissatisfied 33 23 29 29 22 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 Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Dec 26 Jun 17 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2000* 2010 Very satisfied 6 3 3 2 2 10 2 Smwht satisfied 38 31 31 31 34 61 22 Smwht dissatisfied 28 35 34 34 37 21 36 Very dissatisfied 26 31 31 32 26 7 39 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 23. 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 Democratic Party 45% 4% 90% 35% 39% 50% Republican Party 42 91 6 44 49 36 DK/NA 13 5 4 21 12 14 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Democratic Party 57% 48% 43% 46% 31% Republican Party 27 40 45 40 55 DK/NA 16 12 13 14 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? (Additional data available on request through April 2003) Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 Apr 20 Feb 09 Jun 15 Sep 24 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2005 2003 Democratic Party 45 48 44 47 43 48 48 Republican Party 42 40 42 39 41 39 37 DK/NA 13 12 14 14 16 13 14 24. Regardless of how you feel about Christopher Christie's policies, would you say you like or don't like Christopher Christie as a person? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like 59% 86% 36% 65% 65% 53% Don't Like 26 8 45 23 24 29 DK/NA 14 7 18 12 11 18 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Like 50% 55% 58% 60% 73% Don't Like 33 29 26 27 18 DK/NA 17 16 16 13 10 TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Christopher Christie's policies, would you say you like or don't like Christopher Christie as a person? Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 2011 2011 2011 Like 59 50 49 Don't Like 26 35 33 DK/NA 14 16 19 25. And regardless of how you feel about Christopher Christie as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Christopher Christie's policies? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Like 54% 87% 20% 64% 63% 46% Don't Like 42 10 75 33 34 49 DK/NA 4 3 5 3 3 5 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Like 44% 52% 57% 52% 65% Don't Like 50 45 40 42 32 DK/NA 6 3 4 6 3 TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Christopher Christie as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Christopher Christie's policies? Oct 12 Aug 17 Jun 21 2011 2011 2011 Like 54 48 45 Don't Like 42 47 49 DK/NA 4 5 6 26. Governor Christie says that he is not going to run for President in 2012. Do you think he made the right decision or the wrong decision? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Right decision 84% 84% 86% 84% 79% 89% Wrong decision 10 13 7 10 13 6 DK/NA 6 3 7 6 7 4 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Right decision 83% 87% 85% 82% 84% Wrong decision 7 9 10 12 10 DK/NA 10 4 5 5 6 27. Does Christie's decision not to run for President make you think more favorably of Christie, less favorably of Christie or doesn't it make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom More favorably 39% 53% 25% 44% 40% 38% Less favorably 1 2 1 1 1 1 Doesn't make a diff 58 44 72 55 57 59 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore More favorably 30% 40% 41% 37% 44% Less favorably - 1 1 4 - Doesn't make a diff 66 58 57 57 53 DK/NA 4 - - 2 2 28. If Christie ran for President, how likely do you think it is that he would have won the Republican nomination - Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not likely at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very likely 28% 33% 19% 32% 35% 21% Smwht likely 38 43 37 39 34 42 Not too likely 16 13 18 16 14 18 Not likely at all 15 8 23 10 15 14 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 2 5 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very likely 20% 25% 30% 30% 34% Smwht likely 37 41 40 37 33 Not too likely 17 15 18 14 18 Not likely at all 20 16 11 16 10 DK/NA 6 4 - 2 4 29. If Christie won the Republican nomination for President, how likely do you think it is that Christie would have defeated President Obama in the general election for President - Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not likely at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very likely 26% 44% 9% 31% 35% 18% Smwht likely 30 35 20 38 27 33 Not too likely 20 11 33 15 18 23 Not likely at all 20 7 34 15 18 22 DK/NA 3 2 3 2 2 5 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very likely 18% 26% 23% 25% 36% Smwht likely 26 28 35 29 33 Not too likely 24 23 23 15 16 Not likely at all 26 20 18 27 12 DK/NA 6 3 1 5 2 30. Do you think the Christie-for-President talk was good or bad for New Jersey? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Good 60% 74% 42% 68% 63% 57% Bad 24 13 36 19 23 26 DK/NA 16 12 22 12 14 18 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Good 53% 60% 57% 54% 72% Bad 27 27 28 26 12 DK/NA 20 13 15 19 16 31. Did the Christie-for-President talk make you think more favorably of Christie, less favorably of Christie, or didn't it make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom More favorably 17% 30% 9% 18% 22% 13% Less favorably 11 5 18 9 10 13 Didn't make a diff 69 63 70 72 67 72 DK/NA 2 1 3 1 2 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore More favorably 14% 19% 19% 11% 22% Less favorably 14 12 9 12 9 Didn't make a diff 68 67 72 77 67 DK/NA 4 2 1 - 2 32. As you may know, Christie has traveled to other states to campaign for Republican candidates. Does this make you think more favorably of Christie, less favorably of Christie, or doesn't it make a difference? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom More favorably 15% 32% 7% 14% 19% 12% Less favorably 22 6 33 22 23 20 Doesn't make a diff 62 61 60 64 57 68 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 - Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore More favorably 15% 14% 18% 13% 17% Less favorably 27 19 22 27 16 Doesn't make a diff 57 66 60 60 66 DK/NA 2 1 - - 1 33. Do you think the jokes about Christie being overweight are in bad taste or are they funny? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Bad taste 71% 74% 71% 70% 64% 79% Funny 20 19 20 23 27 13 DK/NA 8 8 9 7 9 8 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Bad taste 66% 70% 72% 77% 73% Funny 21 21 22 16 22 DK/NA 14 9 7 7 5 34. Christie says that political commentators who raise his weight as a political issue are ignorant. Do you agree or disagree with Christie? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Agree 72% 83% 63% 73% 70% 74% Disagree 24 15 32 23 26 22 DK/NA 4 2 5 4 4 4 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Agree 61% 72% 73% 73% 79% Disagree 33 25 25 23 16 DK/NA 6 3 2 4 6 35. Do you think that Christie has a political future beyond being Governor or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes, has future 73% 87% 56% 79% 77% 70% No, does not 22 9 38 16 19 24 DK/NA 5 4 6 5 4 6 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes, has future 76% 73% 72% 70% 74% No, does not 19 24 22 23 20 DK/NA 5 3 6 7 6 36. How likely do you think it is that Christopher Christie will be selected by the Republican Presidential nominee to be their Vice-Presidential running mate - Very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not likely at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very likely 10% 13% 7% 11% 10% 10% Somewhat likely 35 36 33 38 34 35 Not very likely 28 30 28 26 28 27 Not likely at all 24 17 29 23 25 24 DK/NA 3 4 2 2 3 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very likely 12% 9% 11% 12% 10% Somewhat likely 38 37 28 37 33 Not very likely 23 28 35 24 28 Not likely at all 25 24 25 24 24 DK/NA 2 3 1 4 5 TREND: How likely do you think it is that Christopher Christie will be selected by the Republican Presidential nominee to be their Vice-Presidential running mate - Very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not likely at all? Oct 12 Jun 21 2011 2011 Very likely 10 10 Somewhat likely 35 33 Not very likely 28 28 Not likely at all 24 24 DK/NA 3 5 37. Christie says that he doesn't have the right kind of personality to be Vice President. Do you agree or disagree with Christie? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Agree 74% 65% 81% 74% 72% 75% Disagree 19 29 13 19 22 17 DK/NA 7 6 7 6 7 8 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Agree 68% 73% 77% 73% 77% Disagree 20 21 20 20 15 DK/NA 12 6 3 7 8 38. As you may know, the Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadagno, would become governor if Governor Christie does not complete his term. Based on what you know about Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, do you think she is qualified to serve as Governor if it becomes necessary, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes, Qualified 34% 47% 22% 38% 39% 30% No, Not qualified 29 23 38 26 29 29 DK/NA 37 29 40 36 32 42 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes, Qualified 24% 33% 32% 34% 46% No, Not qualified 27 35 27 25 25 DK/NA 49 32 41 41 29 Demographic Summary
