MSNBC’s First Read cites a Democratic poll that now puts the New Jersey Governor’s race as a 2 pt contest with Republican Chris Christie leading Democrat Jon Corzine 43% – 41%.
Key Findings
The Republican brand continues to be an anchor for Christie in the state. The Republican Party’s favorability rating remains decidedly negative, with just 32 percent of New Jersey voters rating it favorably against 43 percent who give it a negative rating. On the generic state legislative ballot, the Democratic candidates hold an 8-point edge on the Republicans, 45 to 37 percent. Christie’s negative ratings remain as high as his positives, with 35 percent viewing him favorably and 34 percent unfavorably.
If this race continues to be a close contest, and the generic state legislative ballot holds where it is, the Republican shot at winning a majority of seats in the New Jersey General Assembly will be very close. By many accounts legislative Republicans lead by Republican Leader Alex Decroce have done an outstanding job on recruitment, and continue to do a great job on the operational side of things with their campaigns. It is entirely possible that even with a Corzine victory, Republicans could pull off an upset in the legislative races in 2009.