TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie is tied for the second-most disliked politician currently holding office in America, according to E-Poll Market Research.

The Encino, Calif.-based E-Poll collects data on almost 9,000 celebrities and more than 100 nationally known politicians to measure whether Americans know and like them.

There are a good number of U.S. political figures no longer holding office who are more disliked than Christie, including two disgraced politicos from New York: former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner and ex-Gov. Elliot Spitzer. Americans also thought less of just-defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

And they have more disdain for one political figure who is about to take office: President-elect Donald Trump.

But Christie is now in a constellation of damaged and disliked pols that's light years from his once-beloved post Hurricane Sandy popularity. He's tied with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for second-most disliked politician currently in office, E-Poll found.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who survived a bruising 2012 recall, is the only politician currently in office who's more disliked than Christie on the national stage.

While Christie's numbers have been consistently tumbling on the state level, his national standing slipped considerably since he endorsed Trump last February after ending his own White House bid.

At NJ Advance Media's request, E-Poll took stock of Christie's national standing shortly before making his Trump endorsement, and again a few days before the presidential election to see how the governor's backing of the tycoon and the Bridgegate trial might have affected the his standing.

Among the findings:

His negative appeal rating went from 30 percent to 37 percent during that time period. Those who consider Christie "insincere" went from 17 percent to about one-in-four.

Among America's sitting governors, Christie is only a few percentage points from Walker, who is disliked by 39 percent of the American public.

He's the ninth-most disliked among the 100+ national politicos E-Poll tracks.

E-Poll found that just 19 percent of Americans now have a favorable view of the governor. That mirrors his standing in recent state polls.

Randy Parker, E-Poll's senior director of marketing, couldn't say for certain if the governor's plunge in popularity was more attributable to his endorsement of Trump or the months-long federal Bridgegate trial, only that both likely played a role.

"In looking at the comments that people makes about him, there's a bunch of statements about 'corruption' and 'lack of trust,' as in, saying one thing and doing another," said Parker.

Parker noted that even with his previously high levels of popularity in New Jersey, there's far more room for politicians to fall from grace.

"I do think for politicians, it's a little different from other celebrities, because there's a lot of dislike from the other side of the aisle," explained Parker.

"With Tom Hanks, you either really, really love him, or you're just OK with him."

But even allowing for the divided nature of the electorate, Christie still makes terrible grades.

The average politician's E-Score is 44. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' is 95. Former President Bill Clinton's is 86. Even though he's disliked by 45 percent, Trump's overall score is 81.

Christie's is 10.



Still, what if Christie really were a pop star?

According to E-Poll, he would be most comparable to Justin Bieber, whose E-Score is 14.

Parker noted that like Christie, Bieber also once enjoyed high popularity, but then made headlines for the wrong reasons, like spitting on his fans, and last year, punching one in the face.

If you're wondering who's both the most detested and least-liked politician in America according to E-Poll, there's no contest.

It's Wiener, who resigned over a sexting scandal in 2011 and last year became the target of a federal criminal probe for sending still more illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. His "negative appeal" is 74, according to E-Poll.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.