BY PATRICK MURRAY

COMMENTARY

There have been a couple of queries about Gov. Christie’s poll ratings released by Monmouth University/NJ Press Media this week compared to the numbers put out by Quinnipiac University last week. Among registered voters, Monmouth has the governor’s positive job rating at 50 percent while Quinnipiac put it at 59 percent.

Each organization’s prior polls put the governor’s approval at 55 percent. In other words, Quinnipiac zigged (up 4 points) while Monmouth zagged (down 5 points). Why?

There have been 17 occasions over the past six years where Monmouth and Quinnipiac released New Jersey governor ratings within two weeks of one another. These most recent results mark the largest ever difference between the two.

Since Chris Christie took office, the two organizations released three polls prior to today that were conducted within two weeks of one another. In each of those instances, the governor’s job approval rating differed by exactly 3 points – in two instances the Quinnipiac number was higher, while it was lower in the other.