NJ-Gov: Christie Posts Big Primary Leads

Monmouth (PDF) (5/13-18, registered voters)

Chris Christie (R): 50

Steve Lonegan (R): 32

Rick Merkt (R): 2

Undecided: 16

(MoE: ±3.7%)

Quinnipiac (5/13-18, likely voters for primary, registered voters for general, 4/22 in parens)

Chris Christie (R): 56 (46)

Steve Lonegan (R): 33 (37)

Rick Merkt (R): 2 (2)

Undecided: 9 (14)

(MoE: ±4.2%)

Jon Corzine (D-inc): 38 (38)

Chris Christie (R): 45 (45)

Undecided: 13 (14)

(MoE: ±2%)

After months of everyone fixating on Corzine vs. Christie, it seems like everyone has suddenly realized that there’s a competitive GOP primary and that it’s not a done deal that former US Attorney Chris Christie will win it against the race’s conservative insurgent, former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan. In fact, Rasmussen last week gave only a 10-point lead to Christie, 39-29.

Now two more polls of the primary are out, and they give a little more breathing room to Christie; in fact, the only poll with primary trendlines, Quinnipiac, finds Christie strengthening his position from last month. Looks like the Democratic Governors’ Association plan of helping to beat Christie in the primary may not pan out, but he may be still be softened up by Lonegan’s attacks going into the general. (Or, the contrary view may be that it’s helping Christie better define himself as an acceptable moderate… although hopefully yesterday’s anti-stimulus comments can be used to debunk that.) At any rate, Corzine (like the economy, to which his fortunes seem inextricably linked) seems to have finally bottomed out, with his general election numbers exactly the same as last month and his approval numbers, though still terrible even by New Jersey standards, starting to tick back up (38/53, up from 37/54).