Chris Christie 'certainly not ruling out' run for president
Former NJ governor says he's not afraid to call Biden a liar on 'Hannity
If Chris Christie decides to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2024, he might not be able to rely on his home state for support, a new poll suggests.
Christie, who ran for president in 2016 and served two terms as New Jersey’s governor before being ousted by term limits, faces a 64% unfavorable rating from voters in his home state, according to a Monmouth University poll that was released Tuesday.
"Christie left a lasting impression on New Jersey. Nearly every New Jerseyan still has an opinion of him," Patrick Murray, director of the university’s independent poll institute, said in a statement. "The problem is those opinions tend to be fairly negative."
"Christie left a lasting impression on New Jersey. Nearly every New Jerseyan still has an opinion of him. The problem is those opinions tend to be fairly negative."
A full 70% of respondents said they believed Christie would not make a good president, while 60% hoped he wouldn’t run in 2024 versus only 10% who said they hoped he would.
Christie’s time in office included the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal, in which some Christie staffers and appointees were accused of plotting a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge as revenge against a political rival; his 2017 decision to close state beaches as part of a government shutdown – only to be spotted with his family as they had a beach all to themselves; and chronic problems with NJ Transit, the state operator of buses and passenger trains.
Frequent problems with NJ Transit trains and buses was a problem for Republican Chris Christie during his time as New Jersey's governor.
Despite Christie’s weak numbers, his 64% unfavorable rating was actually an improvement over his 71% unfavorable rating in the same poll in 2018, Newsweek reported.
Christie also ranks as the least popular of the state’s living former governors, a list that includes Republicans Tom Kean Sr. and Christine Todd Whitman and Democrats Jon Corzine and James Florio.
New Jersey’s governor’s office is currently occupied by Democrat Phil Murphy, who defeated GOP nominee Kim Guadagno in 2017. Guadagno had been Christie’s lieutenant governor.
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In an appearance Tuesday on the "Ruthless" podcast, Christie said his 2024 decision would not depend on whatever former President Trump decides to do – and he took a swipe at former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the process.
Haley, a Republican former governor of South Carolina and another possible contender for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, had said she would not run if Trump were to pursue another term in the White House.
"I’m not going to defer to anyone," Christie said.
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