Chris Christie

Fitch Downgrades New Jersey's Credit Rating To AA-

David Taintor | August 17, 2011, 4:52PM

Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

On the same day a report suggested that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is exploring a presidential bid, the ratings agency Fitch downgraded the state's credit rating from AA to AA-.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the state's budget needs more funding to meet growing needs of pension and worker-benefit liabilities:

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New Jersey

Poll: Plurality Of New Jersey Voters Thinks Gay Marriage Should Be Legal

Jillian Rayfield | August 3, 2011, 6:00AM

Pro Same-Sex Marriage Parade, Maplewood, NJ

Gay marriage is not likely to become legal in New Jersey as long as Chris Christie is running things, but according to a recent poll, more New Jersey voters would support marriage equality than would not.

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Gay Marriage

NJ Same-Sex Couples File Lawsuit For Marriage Equality

Jillian Rayfield | June 29, 2011, 5:10PM

Pro Same-Sex Marriage Parade, Maplewood, NJ

The New Jersey gay advocacy group Garden State Equality and seven same-sex couples and their children filed suit Wednesday, arguing that same-sex marriages should be recognized by the state.

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Chris Christie

Poll: Gov. Christie's Approval Rating Slumps To Record Low

Jon Terbush | June 21, 2011, 1:50PM

Troubled by Gov. Chris Christie's (R) deep cuts to education spending and his push to cut state employees' benefits, a plurality of voters in the Garden State now disapprove of the the governor's job performance, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday.

That finding comes as Christie and his allies in the state legislature are pushing through sweeping changes to public workers' benefits, including a big increase in the amount of money employees must directly pay toward pension and health programs. Those proposed changes prompted hundreds of people to protest outside the State House in recent weeks, and now, it seems they've also dragged down the approval rating of a governor who was once quite popular with his constituents.

In the poll, 47% of registered voters said they disapproved of Christie's job performance, compared to 44% who said they approved of it. Though Christie's approval rating is barely underwater, it's still the worst showing he's ever posted in Quinnipiac's surveys, continuing a downward trend that began most markedly at the start of this year when Christie began to push for deep budget cuts and sweeping changes to public employees' benefits.

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New Jersey

New Jersey Assemblyman Introduces Marriage Equality Bill

Jillian Rayfield | June 20, 2011, 1:54PM

Pro Same-Sex Marriage Parade, Maplewood, NJ

On the heels of the big marriage equality fight in New York, a New Jersey Democrat has introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

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New Jersey

Cash Strapped NJ Transit Takes Bids For Naming Rights To Stations, Trains

David Taintor | June 9, 2011, 6:45AM

All aboard the Cheetos Express! Or, step right up to the New Jersey Star-Ledger's favorite suggestion: the Sprite Platform at Coca-Cola Transit Center.

Sound unrealistic? If the New Jersey Transit System accepts an advertising bid from Titan Outdoor, sponsored trains like these could hit the tunnels soon.

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Chris Christie

Greetings From The Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen Slams New Jersey Budget Cuts

Eric Kleefeld | March 31, 2011, 5:42PM

Bruce Springsteen and Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

Bruce Springsteen is making his opinions known about the political battles in his home state of New Jersey -- with a letter to the Asbury Park Press, praising a recent article of theirs about the negative impact of Gov. Chris Christie's (R-NJ) proposed cuts on the poor.

Interesting to note, Christie is himself a big Springsteen fan, and has a collection of many years worth of ticket stubs from concerts. Of course, Springsteen is known for being on the political left, and campaigned for John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Though perhaps the Boss cut Christie some slack -- the letter is very harsh on the policies, but never mentions Christie by name.

"The article is one of the few that highlights the contradictions between a policy of large tax cuts, on the one hand, and cuts in services to those in the most dire conditions, on the other," Springsteen wrote. He then praised the paper for highlighting anti-poverty activists, "all of whom have something important to add to the discussion: real information and actual facts about what is happening below the poverty line."

He also added: "Finally, your article shows that the cuts are eating away at the lower edges of the middle class, not just those already classified as in poverty, and are likely to continue to get worse over the next few years. I'm always glad to see my hometown newspaper covering these issues."

Chris Christie

Voters Sour On NJ Gov. Christie After His Budget Address

Jon Terbush | March 9, 2011, 12:07PM

Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who earned accolades for his tough talk about taking on public employee unions, appears to have lost some support from his constituents after releasing a new budget that does just that.

According to a recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll, registered voters in New Jersey now have a much less favorable view of Christie than they did just a few months ago, with the poll coming shortly after the governor delivered his budget address two weeks ago. In that address, Christie, like other Republican governors nationwide, criticized public employee unions for having "rich benefits," and said he would go after those benefits as a way to balance the budget.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

PPP Poll: Huckabee, Romney Tied For GOP Presidential Primary Lead in NJ

Jon Terbush | January 26, 2011, 8:54AM

Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney

Mike Huckabee is not in Kansas -- er, Arkansas -- anymore, but the former Governor from the Midwest still finds himself in somewhat strange territory as a new poll shows him tied with Mitt Romney atop the 2012 GOP field in a Northeastern state, New Jersey.

In the poll, both Huckabee and Romney drew the support of 18% of respondents. An additional 15% said Newt Gingrich was their first choice, while 14% went for Sarah Palin. Those four frontrunners were trailed by Ron Paul (8%), Tim Pawlenty (4%), Mitch Daniels (3%) and John Thune (2%).

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2012 elections

PPP Poll: Obama Cruising Toward Huge 2012 Win In NJ

Jon Terbush | January 11, 2011, 1:09PM

Pres. Barack Obama (D)

Bruce Springsteen may be the only person who could beat Barack Obama in a presidential matchup in New Jersey.

In a new PPP survey of the Garden State, the President crushes every Republican candidate polled against him, including the state's relatively popular Governor, Chris Christie. Obama led his challengers by an average of almost 20 points, with his most comfortable race coming against Sarah Palin, whom he led by 30 points.

Mitt Romney fared best--er, least poorly--among the GOP contenders, trailing Obama by 15 points, 52% to 37%. Obama held a 17-point margin against three other challengers--Mike Huckabee (53%-36%), Newt Gingrich (54%-37%), and Chris Christie (55%-38%). Against Sarah Palin, Obama held an even wider 59% to 29% lead.

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New Jersey

NJ's Christie & Lt. Gov. Leave Dem In Charge During Snowstorm

Eric Kleefeld | December 28, 2010, 8:20AM

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R)

A funny thing is going on in New Jersey. The state's response to the massive snowstorm is being overseen by Democratic state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, in the role of Acting Governor -- because both Republican Gov. Chris Christie and his Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno are vacationing out of state at the same time.

Until this past year, New Jersey did not actually have a lieutenant governor, with the state Senate President taking over in case of a vacancy or temporary absence of the governor. In 2005, New Jersey voters approved a ballot question to create the office of lieutenant governor, with it being filled by the victory of the Christie-Guadagno ticket in 2009.

But in the midst of the snowstorm, Christie is on vacation with his family at Disney World in Florida, and Guadagno and her family are in Mexico.

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2012 elections

Poll: Majority Of NJ Voters Don't Want Gov. Christie For President

Jon Terbush | December 21, 2010, 12:47PM

Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose unpolished, tough-talking style has brought him much national attention and made him a viral sensation, is often floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2012. A new Quinnipiac poll out today suggests Christie would face a tough time even in his home state.

According to the poll, a large majority of New Jersey voters don't think their governor would make a good president. Sixty-three percent of respondents said Christie would not be a good commander-in-chief, while only 25% said he would be a good fit for the nation's top job.

What's more, most New Jersey voters don't like the sound of "Vice President Christie" either. Just 32% of respondents said Christie would make a good veep, while 59% said he would not.

Those results come despite another finding in the poll that most voters in the state approve of the job Christie is doing as governor by a 46% to 44% margin. So while Christie's constituents like what he's doing for the Garden State, they're not so sure he'd be a good choice to run the entire country.

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Chris Christie

Chris Christie: Both Sides Using 'Ground Zero Mosque' As 'Political Football'

Jillian Rayfield | August 17, 2010, 11:16AM

NJ Gov. Chris Christie (R)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said yesterday that both Democrats and Republicans are using the Cordoba House Muslim community center as a "political football," and that while the "sensitivities" of 9/11 victims' families are important, "we cannot paint all of Islam with that brush."

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