newjerseynewsroom.com

BY GINA G. SCALA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

If Gov. Chris Christie thought the only rough seas he was going to face ahead of delivering tonight’s keynote speech at the Republican National Convention were from Tropical Storm Isaac, well, he’d be wrong.

Even before the tough-talking governor takes the stage, the critics are weighing in on whether his appearance will change much of the nation’s perception of the Garden State. Somewhat unexpectedly, only a third of New Jersey voters think the speech will help; while 46 percent of New Jersey voters said the speech will make no difference and 14 percent believe it will further hurt the state’s image, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll released today.

“I hope that what I do Tuesday night, more than anything else, is to continue to change people’s opinion about our state,” Christie said before he left for Tampa, according to NorthJersey.com

While Christie can count Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, and Democratic Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as fans of his no nonsense, common sense, tough-talking approach to politics, not everyone is on board. And that includes voters in the Garden State.

“New Jerseyans are more dubious than they were 16 months ago about how Gov. Christie’s national visibility affects the state,” David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton poll and professor of political science at Rutgers, said. “In April 2011, 40 percent thought it helped. Now only 32 percent feel positive about his latest national opportunity. Much of this is partisan; with Republicans remaining still on board. But this shift may also reflect some of the negative ‘YouTube’ moments over the past year.”

The poll — a phone survey of 916 registered voters conducted statewide from Aug 23-25, with a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent — saw little movement in Christie’s approval rating in New Jersey despite the national buzz created by the VP and keynote talk.