Christie’s rating on Sandy recovery takes hit

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R)’s approval rating on the recovery from Hurricane Sandy has dramatically dropped in recent months, a new poll suggests.

Fifty-four percent of New Jersey residents approved of this handling of recovery efforts, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released Wednesday. That rating is down 15 points since January and down 26 points from last November.

Just more than a third disapproved of Christie’s efforts, which is up 10 points from January, when the George Washington Bridge scandal unfolded.

{mosads}Opinions of Christie’s response to the storm have changed since his administration was accused in January of withholding Sandy aid in an act of political retribution. 

A majority of Democrats no longer approved of Christie’s Sandy recovery efforts. Only 46 percent did, which is down 15 percentage points since mid-January. Close to 69 percent of Republicans approved of Christie’s job, but that’s down 13 points.  

Despite those weaker numbers, Christie’s favorability and job approval rating have remained stable since January. Nearly half of his constituents viewed him favorably and more than half approve of his job as governor.

The results are from a statewide survey of 842 adults in New Jersey that was conducted Feb. 22-28.