Christie’s popularity plummets in new poll

A new national poll shows New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) popularity tanking, as scandal continues to plague his second term.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll now shows him underwater, with 29 percent of Americans viewing him negatively, while 22 percent view him positively.

{mosads}That’s a significant shift from October, when the same poll showed 33 percent of Americans viewing him positively, while 17 percent viewed him negatively.

Potentially more damning to his presidential prospects is the drop in support he’s seen among women, independents and Democrats, who previously viewed him more positively than negatively. Now, only 15 percent of Democrats, 20 percent of independents, and 21 percent of women view him positively.

Christie won reelection in New Jersey with strong support from women and independents, as well as a third of Democrats, a result that helped set him up for what his supporters said would be his main argument in a 2016 Republican primary: He’s the most electable Republican in a general election.

It seems, however, the scandal surrounding the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that were orchestrated by Christie allies in an apparent act of political retribution might have crippled his claim to electability.

Though Christie has repeatedly said he had no knowledge of the closures, a plurality of those polled, 44 percent, believe Christie’s mostly not telling the truth. That’s a shift from an NBC/Marist survey conducted earlier this month in which 44 percent gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Christie’s administration is facing multiple state and federal investigations into the closures, and his reelection campaign has been subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney’s office. And in recent weeks, another Democratic mayor came out with similar accusations of political retribution against Christie’s administration.

The steady drip-drip of news means nearly 80 percent of those polled are now aware of the story surrounding the George Washington Bridge closures.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 22-25 among 800 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.