First-term New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine is up for re-election this year against a back-drop of voter unhappiness with the direction the state is going. Just a quarter of voters say the state is going in the right direction down 3 points from a year ago, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll conducted Jan. 2-7.
Although a plurality (within the poll's 3.5 point margin of error) regard Corzine unfavorably, his numbers are better than the view of voters have the state's direction - 44 percent view him unfavorably compared to 42 percent who view him favorably. Forty-one percent say his job performance is "fair," 32 percent call it "good" and 25 percent describe it as poor.
Right now, Corzine holds an advantage over potential Republican challengers because they all suffer from lower name recognition, Fairleigh Dickinson says. Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is best known, being recognized by 44 percent of voters, but 71 percent say they haven't heard of former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and 89 percent haven't heard of Assemblyman Richard Merkt.
Thirty-two percent of Republican voters prefer Christie to be the nominee chosen in June, Lonegan gets 15 percent and Merkt 5 percent.
Here is how Corzine matches up against each in the poll:
- Corzine 40 percent to 33 percent over Christie.
- Corzine 46 percent to 28 percent over Lonegan.
- Corzine 43 percent to 23 percent over Merkt.
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