New Jersey Exit Polls Point to Some Key Trends

New Jersey exit polls, conducted by Edison Research, point to some interesting trends with national implications. 

- Support for President Obama has fallen among New Jersey voters from 57% in 2009 to slightly more than half this year.

- The Democratic party is seen more favorably than Republicans by a small margin.

- More voters blame Republicans for the government shutdown than Democrats.

- Half of all voters said the economy was most important to them, followed by taxes. Governor Chris Christie tends to get high marks on both issues. 

- Seven in eight voters said they approved of the way Christie handled hurricane Sandy.

- Only three in ten voters said New Jersey's economy had improved over the last year. This is one of the few low points in the exit polls for Christie.