Todd B. Bates

Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

Telephone poll of 541 New Jersey adults was conducted Friday through Sunday

It has a margin of error of %B1 4.2 percentage points

Thursday poll of 800 likely N.J. voters came to same conclusion

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — About half of New Jersey adults think Gov. Chris Christie knew his staff was involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal before e-mails became public last week, according to a new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll.

And 51% say they do not think the governor has been "completely honest" about what he knows about the incident, the poll found.

But 52% do not believe Christie was personally involved in the decision to slash Fort Lee, N.J. access to George Washington Bridge toll lanes for four days in September, according to the poll.

The scandal has caused Christie's job approval rating to slide. His post-election high of 65% in December dropped to 59% over the weekend, according to the poll. That number is still higher than before superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey in October 2012 when he was at 53%.

"Although they don't believe he's come clean about what he knew and when (he) knew it, they are still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute here.

But the Republican governor's popularity doesn't translate well to higher office. Forty-nine percent said they do not think Christie has the right temperament to be president, down from 56% in September.

On Friday, Rasmussen Reports released a poll of 800 likely New Jersey voters who also thought the governor knew in advance about the lane closures. More than half, 54%, thought he also knew of their political nature.

Meanwhile in the Monmouth poll, the governor's disapproval rating increased to 32%, up from 25% last month and 17% in February.

"Governor Christie is definitely weathering the initial storm from the fallout" from Bridgegate, Murray said. The poll also showed a partisan divide.

"The Republicans are sticking by their man," with 89% of them approving of his job performance, up from 85% last month, he said. Independent voters' approval dropped from 73% last month to 62% and fewer Democrats approved: 38% vs. 47%.

Almost half, 47%, think Christie is more concerned about his political future than governing the state, up from 38% in September.

Other poll findings:

• 63% are "not bothered" by Christie's direct, some would say blunt, speaking style. That is unchanged from September.

• 65% would not consider Christie a bully; 32% said that he is a bully.

• 67% say the bridge debacle has not affected their trust in the governor.

"The real question is how much more hasn't he told us," Murray said. "And the poll indicates that we expect that there are probably a couple of other things he hasn't told us." Murray expects that Christie will have the ability to weather few more revelations.

The federal investigation into the Stronger than the Storm TV ads that featured Christie and his family "could actually help Chris Christie," he said. "Everyone's seen the ad, (the) story's been out there for quite some time about the amount of money spent on the ad and it may end up looking like the Democrats are … looking for any thread, no matter how tentative, to try to take this guy down, which makes serious accusations look politically motivated."

The Monmouth University Polling Institute conducted the telephone poll of 541 New Jersey adults from Friday through Sunday. The poll has a margin of error of ± 4.2 percentage points. The Asbury Park Press and its sister publications — (Bridgewater) Courier News, (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post, (Morris County) Daily Record andThe (Vineland) Daily Journal commissioned the poll.