NYT: Christie Popularity Suffers in Jersey

The New York Times reports that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is seeing his popularity dip at home as he spends more and more of his time out of the state.

Polls taken over the last three months reveal a list of home-state complaints: Mr. Christie’s favorability is at its lowest point, with more voters disapproving than approving of his job performance. New Jersey residents think he is making decisions with an eye on his national standing rather than on what is good for their state. They do not think he should run for president — they are, as the slogan goes, ready for Hillary — but most expect he will, and want him to resign if he does. Political talk in New Jersey centers less on Mr. Christie running for president and more on which one of three Democrats quietly seeking to succeed him will win — even though that election is three years away.

For his part, Mr. Christie has begun living a life that is strikingly apart from the state he governs. As chairman of the Republican Governors Association over the last year, he spent 152 days, or 42 percent of his time, outside New Jersey. He has been out of the state for 137 days, or 40 percent of the time, since his second inauguration in January. If he starts a campaign for the presidency early in 2015, it would ensure a tenure spent more on national pursuits than on, say, Pinelands preservation or taking on public employees over pension reform — the issue that brought him all the national attention in the first place.

The NYT reports an October poll shows 32 percent of New Jerseyans like everything about Mr. Christie, while 35 percent dislike everything.