Christie’s approval below 50 percent in NJ

Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) approval rating has dipped below 50 percent among New Jersey voters for the first time since 2011, according to a new poll. 

A Monmouth University poll released Monday found 49 percent of registered voters approve of the governor amid the George Washington bridge scandal that has enmeshed his administration. Another 46 percent of people disapprove of him. 

{mosads}That is a 9-point drop since last month and his lowest rating since May 2011, his first year in office, when his rating stood at 46 percent.  

His all-time high came last February, when 70 percent of voters approved of him. 

His approval rating with the general public is nearly identical. Fifty percent of the general public approves of Christie, while 44 percent disapproves. 

Fifty-six percent of people in New Jersey now believe Christie is more concerned with his political future than governing the state; 35 percent think the opposite. 

Sixty-five percent of people think Christie still intends to run for president. But the number of New Jersey residents who think he has the right temperament for the job, 41 percent, has dropped 15 percent since last year.  

Christie’s grades on his handling of Hurricane Sandy relief have also taken a dive. 

Forty percent of people would give his administration an “A” or “B” for its handling of the recovery. That is a drop of 30 percent since last year. 

The poll surveyed 803 New Jersey residents from Feb. 19 through Sunday and has a 3.5-percentage-point margin of error.