A new Quinnipiac poll shows that President Barack Obama is a strong favorite to win New Jersey in November — even when he is matched up against the Garden State’s popular governor.
In the statewide poll of registered voters, Obama bests presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, 49 percent to 39 percent. For a state that has voted Democratic in the past five presidential elections, that is not necessarily surprising. But the poll gets intriguing when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) enters the equation. When Quinnipiac asked voters to decide between the incumbent ticket of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and a Republican ticket of Romney and Christie, the president’s team still comes out on top — 50 percent to 42 percent.
While Christie is popular among New Jersey voters, so is Obama. The governor, who has achieved star status with national Republicans, is viewed favorably by 53 percent of his state’s voters; only 39 percent have an unfavorable view. Obama, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by 54 percent of New Jersey voters, while 41 percent view the president unfavorably.
The TPM Poll Average tells a similar story: Obama is highly likely to claim New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes, regardless of who makes up the second half of Romney’s ticket.
