In a potential 2016 matchup, Clinton leads Christie in the Garden State, the survey says. N.J. poll: Clinton edges out Christie

Chris Christie: still popular, but not more popular than Hillary Clinton.

The New Jersey governor has the highest approval rating, 74 percent, in Quinnipiac University’s 17 years of polling the Garden State. Only 22 percent disapprove of his job performance. Seventy-one percent of voters believe Christie deserves reelection this year, including 48 percent of Democrats. He leads Democratic challenger Barbara Buono, 62 percent to 25 percent.


But in a potential 2016 matchup with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Garden State won’t stand by its man. Forty-nine percent would pick Clinton, and 45 percent would vote for Christie. While Christie is popular with the state’s Democrats, that support melts away in a matchup with Clinton. A full 86 percent would back her.

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Christie does much better against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, beating him 54 percent to 36 percent.

A poll earlier this month from Rutgers University found Christie with a 70 percent approval rating, but with surprising weak points on two top issues: the state’s high tax rates and the economy. Quinnipiac’s poll points to another potential soft spot: 76 percent of New Jerseyeans support raising the minimum wage. Christie conditionally vetoed a bill to do just that last month, prompting Democrats in the legislature to put a minimum wage hike to $8.25 an hour on the ballot.

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The poll of 1,149 voters was conducted from Feb. 13 to Feb. 17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.