New Jersey voters to Chris Christie: Drop out

By Kelly Cohen, Kelly Cohen

Published December 20, 2015

A new polls shows that most New Jersey voters want Chris Christie to exit the 2016 race for the White House and go back to his full-time job as governor.

Sixty-one percent of those asked said Christie should drop out of the race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Only 33 percent said Christie, who polled fourth among Republican presidential candidates in the poll, should stay in the race.

Even among New Jersey Republicans, just a bare majority, 53 percent, said Christie should stay in the race, while 40 percent said it is time to drop out.

And if Christie doesn't end his 2016 presidential bid? Most, 51 percent, said he should leave his position as governor while he runs. This question broke down along party lines, as most Republicans (71 percent) said they want Christie to stay in office, and most Democrats (74 percent) wanted Christie to resign.

More than six in 10 (63 percent) said that Christie's presidential campaign is distracting him from issues at home, while 33 percent said it was not. Just 42 percent of Republicans called his campaign a distraction, compared to 79 percent of Democrats who did.