Iowa, NH voters cool to Christie

A third of Republicans in two early 2016 states say they dislike Gov. Christie Christie (R-Iowa), according to NBC News/Marist polls released late Wednesday.

Thirty-three percent of Iowa Republicans and 31 percent of Republicans in New Hampshire said they view Christie negatively, the surveys found.

{mosads}By contrast, half of Iowa Republicans and 52 percent of New Hampshire Republicans said they view him favorably. 

Christie received the highest negative ratings in both of the states among potential GOP 2016 presidential contenders.

Christie heads to Iowa on Thursday to attend several fundraisers. He plans to visit New Hampshire on July 31. Iowa will host the first-in-the-nation caucuses in 2016, followed closely by New Hampshire’s primary.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) received the highest favorability rating in Iowa among the Republicans in the poll. Two-thirds of Iowa Republicans said they view him favorably as do 71 percent of New Hampshire Republicans. 

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) came in second, with 63 percent of Iowa Republicans saying they view him favorably and 65 percent of New Hampshire Republicans viewing him favorably. 

Nearly 60 percent of Iowa Republicans and New Hampshire Republicans said they view Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) favorably.

Forty-four percent of Iowa Republicans said they view both Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) favorably. Half of New Hampshire Republicans said the same of the two potential candidates.

The Iowa poll surveyed 392 Republicans between July 7 and 13 and has a 4.9 percentage point margin of error. The New Hampshire poll surveyed 340 Republican voters over the same time period and has a 5.3 percentage point margin of error.