Watch Video: Polling Institute Director Mickey Carroll discusses poll results

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New Jersey voters say 67 - 25 percent that Gov. Christopher Christie deserves reelection in 2013 and give him leads of 18 point or more against any possible Democratic challenger, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The only group opposed to Gov. Christie's reelection is Democrats, by a narrow 46 - 41 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. The governor's leads early in the race are: *\t53 - 35 percent over Newark Mayor Cory Booker; *\t57 - 30 percent over State Sen. Richard Codey; *\t61 - 23 percent over State Sen. Barbara Buono; *\t62 - 20 percent over Assembly member Lou Greenwald; *\t62 - 21 percent over Assembly member John Wisniewski. Booker dominates a possible Democratic primary with 41 percent, followed by Codey with 12 percent. No other candidate tops 4 percent. \"Remember, we have a state election in 2013 and the only Democrat who shows any oomph against Gov. Christopher Christie, the hero of Hurricane Sandy, is Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Even he trails the Republican Governor by double digits,\" said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. \"There's a generic Democratic vote of about 20 percent, and that's what State Sen. Barbara Buono and Assembly members Lou Greenwald and John Wisniewski get. State Sen. Richard Codey, the frequent fill-in governor, does a little better. New Jersey voters give Christie a 67 - 22 percent favorability rating. Booker gets a 52 - 13 percent favorability, with 33 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion. The \"don't know enough\" score for other possible candidates ranges from 51 percent to 88 percent. \"The favorability numbers underline the New Jersey problem for politicians - recognition statewide in a state without a commercial TV station is almost impossible to get. Just ask Codey, Buono, Greenwald and Wisniewski,\" Carroll said. By a 45 - 38 percent margin, voters would like to see Democrats in control of the New Jersey State Legislature after the 2013 elections. Independent voters prefer Republican control 38 - 32 percent. New Jersey voters support merit pay for public school teachers 67 - 28 percent, including 67 - 26 percent among voters with children in public schools and 59 - 36 percent among voters in union households. \"Our surveys over the last two years show support of 2-1 or more for merit pay for teachers, including strong support among Democrats and voters in union households,\" Carroll said. \"Newark teachers are latest group to get on the merit pay bandwagon.\" Christie's call for a vote now on a tax cut is gaining support, but by a narrow 48 - 45 percent margin, voters still support the Democratic plan to wait to see if tax revenues are strong enough to finance a tax cut. This compares to 52 - 39 percent support for the Democrats' wait- and-see approach in an October 17 Quinnipiac University poll. Looking at Washington, New Jersey voters believe 63 - 34 percent that President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress will make a good faith effort to cooperate with Republicans on important national issues. But voters say 49 - 45 percent Republicans won't make a good faith effort to cooperate. From November 19 - 25, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,664 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information or RSS feed visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter."} Skip to Content

Christie Tops Any Dem In New Jersey Governor's Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Back Merit Pay For Teachers More Than 2-1

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