New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who earned accolades for his tough talk about taking on public employee unions, appears to have lost some support from his constituents after releasing a new budget that does just that.
According to a recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll, registered voters in New Jersey now have a much less favorable view of Christie than they did just a few months ago, with the poll coming shortly after the governor delivered his budget address two weeks ago. In that address, Christie, like other Republican governors nationwide, criticized public employee unions for having “rich benefits,” and said he would go after those benefits as a way to balance the budget.
In the poll, 46% of voters viewed Christie favorably, compared to 44% who viewed him unfavorably. That’s a swing from his strong showing in December, when 49% of voters had a favorable impression of Christie compared to 39% who had an unfavorable impression of him.
Further, a plurality of voters, 48%, said they didn’t like Christie’s budget proposal, while 45% said they were pleased with the proposal.
In his budget address, Christie called for reducing benefits of public employees, such as making employees pay more toward their health benefits, and rolling back future pension plans. He has also come out in favor of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to strip public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights, a proposal that has deadlocked that state’s legislature and sparked weeks of protests in the state capitol.
Christie vaulted to national stardom for his bold speeches and willingness to take on public employees, most notably teachers unions. But now, as nationwide efforts by Republican governors to roll back benefits and collective bargaining rights for public employee unions have sparked a massive backlash, it looks like Christie is catching some of that flak as well.
The Rutgers-Eagleton poll was conducted February 24-26 among 811 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.4%.
