A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds voters are giving Gov. Chris Christie his lowest approval rating yet, 38% to 56%.
Key finding: “A majority — 53% to 38% — thinks the governor knew about the traffic situation on the George Washington Bridge, but most say that he did not personally order it.”
“I would love, for a week, to have a Republican legislature or to be the emperor.”
— Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by Politico, while visiting New Hampshire.
Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) name “has tumbled off the list of top-tier presidential candidates. He is sagging in the polls. And in the kind of indignity that creeps up on him with agonizing regularity, a stranger here wisecracked Wednesday morning that he and his wife had been stuck in the George Washington Bridge traffic jam engineered by the governor’s allies — on their wedding anniversary, no less,” the New York Times reports.
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Politico: “Dogged by six months of scandals, anemic polling numbers and his home state’s fiscal problems, the New Jersey governor is barreling into New Hampshire this week, unfazed that his 2016 obituary has already been written.”
“Just as with Sen. John McCain before him, New Hampshire represents Christie’s best chance at getting back in the game, a stylistic match, the governor’s advisers believe, for another authentic, straight-talking candidate. But no amount of plain talk and authenticity can gloss over the predicament the New Jersey governor finds himself in. Catching fire in New Hampshire won’t be easy — he’s currently polling behind seven other Republican candidates there.”
In a New Hampshire speech, Gov. Chris Christie (R) “is expected to lay out a specific proposal on how to reform federal entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and disability insurance,” WMUR reports.
Matt Bai: “Christie will reignite a crucial but divisive debate in American politics, unveiling a surprisingly detailed plan to remake the entitlement programs that account for more than half of federal spending now (and growing). As he did in New Jersey during those first, heady years of his governorship, Christie is taking on a longer-term problem that candidates in either party have historically tried to ignore, mainly because it entails nothing but bad news and thankless choices.”
First Read: “Here’s the thing about Social Security: It wins you lots of style points with conservative intellectuals. But it’s increasingly risky for Republicans to talk about this, given that their base is white seniors.”
A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in New Jersey finds that 69% of registered voters think Gov. Chris Christie (R) would not make a good president, a 10-point increase since a February poll.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “has seen his presidential stock fall to the point where questions are being raised on whether he’ll really enter the race,” The Hill reports.
“It’s a stunning turnaround for the governor, who not that long ago was seen as the Republican to beat. Other candidates have since stolen his thunder, and it’s increasingly appearing he might have missed his best shot at the White House in 2012.”
A new Rutgers-Eagleton poll finds 54% of New Jersey voters disapprove of the way Gov. Chris Christie (R) is doing his job — his highest disapproval ever — while 41% approve.
New York Times: “It has been falsely predicted many times in the last year, but now it seems to be true: The federal investigation into the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge appears to be coming to a head, with an announcement of indictments as early as next week.”
“Subpoenas have made it clear that the inquiry has gone beyond the lane closings to include possible conflicts of interest and bribery.”
“While Mr. Christie says he was blindsided by rogue aides, the scandal has damaged his once-Teflon finish, as well as his poll numbers among Republican primary voters and his constituents. Even if the investigation produces no legal problems for Mr. Christie, any indictments will almost certainly add to his political challenges.”
Gov. Chris Christie criticized politicians who say “the blandest, most vanilla thing” to not offend voters, and defended his own style of communication, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Christie: “I try to reach the balance. That’s going to lead to good moments, and some not-so-good moments.”
Gov. Chris Christie (R) “is telling donors he could take a presidential campaign to the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire by raising $20 million to $30 million,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.
James Keady, the man whom Gov. Chris Christie famously told to “sit down and shut up” will be running instead — for state Assembly, the Newark Star Ledger reports.
“People want folks who they believe in what they say and don’t change depending on what state they’re in.”
— Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by Time, taking a shot at Gov. Scott Walker (R).
“Federal prosecutors issued a new subpoena to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey this week seeking possible evidence of claims New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration retaliated against the Democratic mayor of Jersey City,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The subpoena seeks records from a broad range of former authority officials regarding their interactions with Jersey City… including two Christie allies who resigned from the authority amid the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni.”
The federal investigation “into lane closures at the George Washington Bridge and other alleged abuses at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected to wrap up in coming weeks after more than a year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The investigation has seemed to quicken in recent weeks, with prosecutors returning to witnesses with questions that indicated they were close to finishing this stage of their probe… It remains unclear whether the findings will implicate current or former allies to Gov. Chris Christie and whether prosecutors can answer questions that investigations by the governor’s office and the Democrat-led Legislature haven’t.”
Politico: “An end to the probe could be politically convenient for Christie, whose apparent 2016 presidential aspirations have been hampered by the so-called “Bridgegate” scandal.”
Gov. Chris Christie (R) “told leading GOP policy analysts this week that he will make overhauling Medicare, Social Security and other long-term entitlement programs a centerpiece of his likely presidential campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
“Christie’s decision to embrace a politically risky campaign theme is central to an attempt to revive his wilting national prospects… By casting himself in the coming months as a blunt truth-teller on issues that some in his party have resisted tackling, Christie hopes to win support from conservatives who have been reluctant to back him and are unsure of his rationale for running.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “is bulking up his political team with three veterans of George W. Bush‘s re-election campaign in preparation for a likely presidential bid, and his allies have formally launched a super PAC to amplify the expected campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“This burst of activity from the Christie camp comes at a perilous juncture for the New Jersey governor. Polls show his support slipping among Republican primary voters, and the onetime front runner has been overshadowed recently by a pair of potential rivals – former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.”
The AP reports Christie’s team “is pushing back against the impression that he’s struggling in his expected presidential bid.”
“We’re not going to pull resources from Christie, we want to kill him dead.”
— American Bridge president Brad Woodhouse, quoted by Bloomberg, on his opposition research effort against GOP presidential hopefuls.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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