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TagsBY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Gov. Chris Christie is winning his war of words with the New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll made public Tuesday, but his popularity is slipping, if only slightly.
The poll found 49 percent of New Jerseyans approve of the job Christie is doing, while 39 percent disapprove. Just back from the Republican Governors Conference in Arizona, Christie's margin of 10 percentage points is a four-point decline from a month ago.
New Jerseyans split on the NJEA: 39 percent have a favorable opinion, while 38 percent have an unfavorable opinion. But the poll also finds that a majority of New Jerseyans in public-employee households (60 percent) have a favorable view of the NJEA and just a quarter have an unfavorable view (26 percent). Among all other New Jerseyans, the NJEA runs behind, 32 percent favorable and 43 percent unfavorable.
Similarly, Christie's approval in public employee households lags by seven points with 40 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving. Among all other New Jerseyans, the governor runs ahead with 53 percent approving and 36 percent disapproving.More than nine of ten New Jerseyans say they have not heard of (88 percent) or have no opinion of (5 percent) of NJEA president, Barbara Keshishian, who is as outspokenly critical of Christie as he is of the union. "The governor has a megaphone. The NJEA has money," Prof. Peter Woolley, a political scientist and poll director, said. "The fight is far from over."
"To the extent that Christie's national reputation is tied up with national Republican politics, it can hurt him with voters back home," Woolley said. "He has thus far made his reputation on honest and decisive management, not solid partisanship."
Christie's 10-point advantage in his approval rating is better than his 4-point advantage in favorable over unfavorable opinion: 45 percent of New Jerseyans say they have a favorable view of the governor and 41 percent have an unfavorable view. Moreover, three of four of those who say their opinion of him is unfavorable say their opinion is "very" unfavorable. Similarly, among those who disapprove of his job performance, two of three "strongly" disapprove.
Three of five New Jerseyans (60 percent) continue to say the state should hold the line on spending even if many programs are reduced, while 22 percent say the state should raise taxes if necessary to support state programs, a nearly three-to-one advantage. Among those who say cut the budget, Christie's approval rate is 69 percent to 20 percent. Among those who say the state needs to raise taxes and continue to support its programs, Christie's approval runs well-behind, 13 percent to 78 percent. Among all New Jerseyans, 45 percent say he is doing a "good" or "excellent" job.
"Deep cuts in public budgets and a popular governor don't usually go together," Woolley added. "New Jersey voters are living in interesting times."
The poll of 804 registered voters statewide was conducted by telephone from Nov. 15, through Sunday, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
