Poll: Christie, Booker Backed 2-1 Over Opponents In Respective Races
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Gov. Chris Christie and Cory Booker hold convincing leads in a new poll about their upcoming elections.
The Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll out Thursday finds 50 percent of registered voters back Christie compared to 26 percent for Democrat Barbara Buono. Christie's support has declined slightly while Buono's remains mostly unchanged.
In the U.S. Senate race, 50 percent support Booker while 22 percent back Republican Steve Lonegan.
Nearly a quarter surveyed haven't made up their minds on a Senate candidate.
LINK: Full Poll Results
"Booker and Christie go into the fall with numbers that can only make them smile," said Krista Jenkins, director of PublicMind and professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "The hopeful sign for their opponents is the double digit numbers of people who remain 'unsure' about whom they intend to support in either election. For many, their preferences have not yet hardened."
The special Senate election is Oct 16. The governor's race will be decided Nov. 5.
The poll found the front-runners do well within their own parties, with 80 percent of Democrats favoring Booker and 81 percent of Republicans favoring Christie.
Both of their opponents do not enjoy as much partisan support, the poll found.
Fifty-six percent of Republicans favor Lonegan, with nearly a quarter of the polled remain undecided. Barbara Buono appeals to a plurality of all Democrats with 47 percent, but almost a third of Democrats support Christie, at 29 percent.
"Cultivating greater support among their base would help Buono and Lonegan make up ground. With Labor Day almost behind us and kids going back to school, we're entering the period of time when people begin to pay more attention to the choices that await them in October and November," said Jenkins. "There's likely to be more opportunities for connecting with voters, particularly those from the same party, in the coming weeks."
The telephone survey of 700 registered voters was conducted from Aug. 21-27. It has a sampling margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.
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