Gov. Christie's job approval hits new low

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) job-approval rating has tumbled to a new low, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Voters are evenly split, 44 percent to 44 percent, on whether they approve or disapprove of Christie's job performance as governor, a Fairleigh Dickinson University/PublicMind survey shows. That compares to his 51-41 percent approval/disapproval rating in April.

Garden State voters also have an unfavorable view of their governor: 40 percent view Christie favorably, while 45 percent view him unfavorably. That's down from his 47-41 percent favorable/unfavorable rating in April.

Christie's numbers are slipping at a time when many Republicans are clamoring for him to jump into the 2012 presidential race, partially because they are dissatisfied with the current crop of candidates.

The governor, whom Republicans admire in part for his blunt style, has said on multiple occasions that he won't run this cycle.

But a group of seven prominent Iowa GOP donors are traveling to the governor's mansion next week to attempt to woo him into the race. 

Another potential dark-horse candidate also received a bad omen on Tuesday — only 4 percent of Texas voters said they would support their governor, Rick Perry (R), in a hypothetical presidential primary race.

The outspoken governor's poll numbers appear to be set on a downward trend. A Quinnipiac University poll released in April showed his approval rating taking a five-point dive from February.

A gender gap appears to be driving Chrisitie's low numbers in the Fairleigh Dickinson poll: Women disapprove of Christie 53-36 percent, while men approve of his job performance 52-36 percent.

The Fairleigh Dickinson poll is based on telephone interviews with 804 registered voters in New Jersey, conducted between May 16-22. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.

---