NJ Gov. Christie Leads Buono by 24

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By The Monmouth University Polling Institute
Chris Christie’s sizable re-election margin has increas­ed in the most recent Monmouth University Poll.
New Jersey voters dismiss challenger Barbara Buono’s portrait of the incumbent as being out of step with his constituents on key issues.
Garden State voters likely to participate in the Nov. 5 election give Gov. Chris Christie a 59 percent to 35 percent lead over state Sen. Barbara Buono. That 24-point margin is an increase from the 19- to 20-point leads he held in prior Monmouth University polls released earlier this month and in August.
Buono garners support from 63 percent of Demo­crats in the current poll, which is significantly lower than the 90 percent support Christie holds among his fellow Republicans. Indepen­dents give the incumbent a significant 65 percent to 26 percent advantage. These are the same basic dynamics as the past two Monmouth University polls.
Christie maintains a significant advantage over Buono among both men (61 percent to 34 percent) and women (57 percent to 35 percent). He trails among black voters – 34 percent to 55 percent for Buono – but leads among both white (64 percent to 31 percent) and Hispanic (50 percent to 44 percent) voters.
“We are looking at a potential 20-point margin in a blue state and an outright win among Hispanic voters. What more could a 2016 GOP presidential contender ask for?” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Buono’s campaign message has tried to paint Christie’s views on key issues as being outside the mainstream. It does not appear that her message has taken hold. Currently, 62 percent of likely voters say that Christie’s views on the issues are generally in line with most New Jerseyans, while only 28 percent say they are out of step. On the other hand, a slight plurality of 40 percent say that Buono’s views are out of step compared to 34 percent who say they are generally in line with most Garden State residents.
Most likely voters (59 percent) continue to have a favorable opinion of Christie, while just 29 percent hold an unfavorable view. Buono’s personal ratings are a net negative of 28 percent favorable and 34 percent unfavorable. A sizable number of likely voters (38 percent) continue to express no opinion of the Democratic nominee with just three weeks to go before the election.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute from Oct. 10-12,
with a statewide random sample of 1,606 likely voters drawn from a list of registered voters who voted in at least two of the last four general elections. That included 824 contacted by interactive voice response on a landline telephone, 447 contacted by a live interviewer on a landline telephone and 335 contacted by a live interviewer on a cell phone. The sample has a margin of error of + 2.5 percent. Monmouth is responsible for all aspects of the survey questionnaire design, data weighting and analysis.
 
The Monmouth University Polling Institute is at Monmouth University,
West Long Branch.