Hillary Clinton 2016: New Poll Says Clinton Would Beat Chris Christie in New Jersey

Impact

If the 2016 presidential election were held today, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would beat New Jersey Governor Chris Christie 49% to 45% in the Garden State, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll reported by Politico.  

The poll also found that the popular governor would beat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New Jersey, 54% to 36%, if they were both running for president.  

Though an earlier poll from Rutgers University found Christie has an outstanding 70% approval rating, his weakest points are the state's high tax rates and the economy. Christie would also be in trouble regarding his recent minimum wage increase veto, as — according to the Quinnipiac poll — 76% of New Jerseyeans support raising the minimum wage.

However, according to Politico, Christie has the "highest approval rating," 74%, in Quinnipiac University's 17 years of polling the Garden State. Only 22% disapprove of his job performance, and 71% believe Christie deserves reelection this year, including 48 percent of Democrats (he leads Democratic challenger Barbara Buono, 62% to 25%.

The poll of 1,149 voters was conducted from Feb. 13 to Feb. 17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9%.