Christie Approval Surges, Up 10 Points Since May

With all the speculation of late whether New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may be running for president, his approval here in the state has risen sharply.

Gov. Chris Christie's approval rating has increased dramatically since he signed the pension and health benefit overhaul for public workers and publicly led the state through Hurricane Irene.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released this morning shows 54 percent of New Jersey voters approve of Christie's performance, while 36 percent disapprove. That's up from a 44 percent even split in May.

The number is the highest approval rating Christie has gotten in a Fairleigh Dickinson poll, although his disapproval ratings were lower early in his term, when many many voters had not formed an opinion.

"The spring budget battles at every level - municipal, county, and state - hurt the governor," said poll director Peter Woolley. "But he got a big win on pension and benefits reform in June, and weathered Hurricane Irene in August.

Eighteen percent of voters rated Christie's job performance excellent, 28 percent good, 29 percent "only fair" and 24 percent poor.

The favorable poll numbers come just as speculation that Christie will run for president reaches a fever pitch, despite his repeated denials that he's interested. The governor has a speech scheduled tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

I'm of the mind running in 2012 would not be worth it. He still has yet to even serve two years as governor and I do recall one of the negatives on Obama back in 2008 was he had little experience. Let us enjoy him for a full term and perhaps a second one. I don't see anyone on the horizon on the Democrat side who could beat him right now, although two years is a lifetime in politics.

His nemesis from the Star Ledger, Tom Moran, thinks he should run, although he seems to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Moran, after all, was the guy Christie hammered in that famous viral video from last year.