Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

About 64 percent of New Jersey voters disapprove of the job Gov. Chris Christie is doing, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. It's the worst approval rating in six years for any governor in the nine states polled by the university.

According to the poll, 66 percent of independent voters disapprove of "the way Christie is handling his job as governor," along with 86 percent of Democrats. On the Republican side, approval has dipped to 59 percent.

Christie's approval rating is below 50 percent in all race, gender and education qualifiers.

"Gov. Christopher Christie is in Trenton until the end of 2017, if he wants to be, holding what is constitutionally one of the strongest governor’s seats in the nation. But New Jersey voters give Christie abysmal job-approval numbers," said Maurice Caroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

READ: Letter: Christie more popular than polls show

READ: Veep Christie or Booker? No thanks

The governor won't gain any favor through his relationship with Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. According to the poll, 72 percent of respondents said Trump should not pick Christie as his running mate.

That feeling crosses party lines, Carroll said: Even 64 percent of Republicans think Trump should find another vice president. If Trump is elected, he has appointed Christie to head up his transition team.

"Christie for President was a flop and, as far as the local folks are concerned, so is Christie for Vice President," Carroll said. "Forget local pride. New Jersey voters say overwhelmingly they don't want their governor on a Trump ticket."

When asked about state legislators, 53 percent said they disapproved of them, while 27 percent approved and 20 percent didn't know. The disapproval came from Democratic, Republican and independent voters.

The same poll of 1,989 New Jerseyans produced a mixed response on the state's Senate delegation, with 26 percent responding they didn't know how they felt about Sen. Cory Booker or Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ.

About 53 percent approved of Booker's nearly three years in Washington while 40 percent disapproved of Menendez.

Support for President Barack Obama followed party lines. About 89 percent of Democratic respondents approved of him while 87 percent of Republicans disapproved, for a total approval of about 53 percent.

No gas tax increase

As the state's Transportation Trust Fund enters its final few months of solvency, New Jersey voters are adamant in their staunch opposition to a gas tax increase.

According to the poll, 54 percent of voters don't want the increase even when told it would pay for road and mass transit improvements. A gas tax increase has been seen as the most likely solution to replenish the $1.6 billion transportation fund, which next year will only have enough revenue to make debt payments.

At the same time, voters oppose reducing the inheritance tax, often seen as a trade-off that would come with raising the gas tax. According to the poll, 52 percent are against that measure if it were linked to a gas tax hike.

"Lawmakers in Trenton are looking at a Transportation Trust Fund that is running on empty, but Garden State voters just don't want to increase the gas tax, even if a gas tax hike were linked to a death tax reduction," Carroll said. "Voters are thinking, 'I know I'm driving today. Who knows what I'll inherit down the road?'"

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