Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

Gov. Chris Christie could have the lowest approval rating of any sitting U.S. governor, with new polls showing the lowest approval numbers in New Jersey in over 25 years.

According to two polls released Tuesday, only 18 percent and 19 percent of New Jersey voters approve of Christie's job as governor, the lowest approval rating for any governor in the Garden State since 1990.

MORE: The rise and fall (and rise?) of Chris Christie

The 19 percent approval rating is the lowest gubernatorial rating in the history of the Quinnipiac University Poll — for any governor. A Fairleigh Dickinson University-PublicMind poll reported an 18 percent approval rating for Christie, tied for the second-lowest in the state's history.

“Governor Christie has been abandoned by virtually everyone, which is a far cry from where he once sat atop a field of aspiring presidential candidates who cut a more polarizing figure than he did,” PublicMind director Krista Jenkins said in a statement.

At 18 percent, Christie's approval rating is the lowest of any U.S. governor, according to various polls conducted over the last year.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R), 22 percent

Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D), 24 percent

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), 33 percent

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), 33 percent

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), 38 percent

The low approval ratings place Christie in an exclusive class of New Jersey governors, with approval ratings in the teens. Former Gov. Brendan Byrne had a record-low 17 percent approval rating in 1977, after signing a state income tax into law. Byrne won reelection later that year.

In 1990, polls showed former Gov. Jim Florio with an 18 percent approval rating — and three years later, he lost a reelection bid to Christine Todd Whitman.



Both Florio and Byrne are Democrats.

"How the mighty have fallen. Remember four years ago, when Republican leaders were pleading with New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie to run for president and he looked like a sure thing for reelection — which he was," said Maurice Carroll, Quinnipiac University assistant poll director in a statement.

"The (governor's) job approval numbers get worse everytime anyone looks ... This could be a long, final year for Gov. Christie," Carroll said.

MORE: Florio slams Christie for Trenton gridlock

According to the polls:

71 percent of voters don't believe Christie is honest or trustworthy (Quinnipiac)

69 percent say President-elect Donald Trump shouldn't offer Christie a job in his administration (Quinnipiac)

36 percent of voters gave Christie an "F" grade, while 3 percent gave him an "A" (Quinnipiac)

70 percent believe New Jersey is on the wrong track (FDU-PublicMind)

Voters have also overwhelmingly rejected Christie's assertion that the George Washington Bridge scandal was contained to former gubernatorial aide Bridget Anne Kelly and Port Authority executives Bill Baroni and David Wildstein.

An overwhelming majority of voters believe Christie either ordered the shutdown of traffic lanes on the bridge — as an act of political retribution — himself or knew about the closures.

BRIDGEGATE: Everything to know about Christie and the GWB scandal

According to the polls:

82 percent of voters believe others were responsible for the lane closings and should have been tried (FDU-PublicMind)

71 percent believe Christie should have been a defendant in the "Bridgegate" trial (FDU-PublicMind)

71 percent believe Christie knew his aides were shutting down lanes on the George Washington Bridge (Quinnipiac)

48 percent of voters believe Christie personally ordered the shutdown, with 43 percent against that assertion (Quinnipiac)

56 percent of voters believe Christie's involvement should be investigated further (Quinnipiac)

Earlier this week, a judge denied requests for a special prosecutor to investigate Christie's involvement in the lane closures.

“Across the board, we see disbelief in Governor Christie’s claims of ignorance about what his underlings were up to," Jenkins said.

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com