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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is running fourth in the GOP presidential race in his home state
Donald Trump is leading in NJ with 31%, followed by Ben Carson at 16% and Marco Rubio at 15%
Chris Christie is running in fourth place in his home state of New Jersey – and voters there say their governor should drop out of the Republican presidential race and come home, a new poll shows.
A Quinnipiac University survey of Garden State Republicans found that Donald Trump is the front-runner in the state, with 31% support compared to Ben Carson at 16% and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 15%.
Christie is running fourth with 8% support, just ahead of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 7%. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina tied at 4%, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich got 3% and no other candidate topped 1%.
The news comes days after Fox Business Network – citing recent polls – decided to exclude Christie from the main stage of its Tuesday night debate, the fourth of the GOP presidential nominating process.
Christie: Debate change isn’t ‘demotion’ but a ‘transfer’
The most damaging news for Christie at home: Most voters think he should end his 2016 ambitions.
Of Republicans, 53% say he should stay in the race, while 40% say he should drop out. But 77% of Democrats want him out, to just 16% who want him to stay in. And 66% of independents agree, while 31% say he should stay in.
The totals: 61% of New Jersey voters want Christie to exit the 2016 race, while 33% want him to see it through.
The survey shows the damage of the “Bridgegate” scandal.
“(It’s) a story that Democrats stoked for better than a year and that drove the Gov’s poll numbers down, down, down,” said Maurice Carroll, Quinnipiac University’s assistant polling director.
Hillary Clinton has a 2-to-1 edge over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among New Jersey Democrats, with 56% support to Sanders’ 23% and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 2%.
Christie: ‘I don’t have a lot of sympathy’ for Carson’s complaints