Should Governor Christie Take Center Stage At The GOP Convention? [AUDIO]

A just-released survey finds a majority of Garden state residents think Governor Christie is doing a good job, and most folk think he should have a starring role at the GOP national convention next month.

Patrick Murray, the Director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute says the latest Monmouth University Asbury Park Press poll finds, “Governor Christie still with good approval ratings – 52 percent approve to 36 percent disapprove among all New Jerseyans, and among registered voters it’s 53 to 35 percent – he’s been hovering in that 50 percent to 55 percent mark all year now and so he’s been pretty stable even though the economy hasn’t been doing as well as one would hope.”

Murray says Christie is “doing particularly well among Republicans – 82 percent approve of the job he’s doing, 57 percent of Independents also approve – only Democrats disagree with that- 60 percent say he’s doing a bad job.

He points out it’s interesting to note that when people were asked about Christie being the keynote speaker at the GOP convention.

“We find that overall 61 percent of New Jerseysans say it’s a good idea to put Chris Christie at that keynote spot in Tampa next month – just 24 percent say it’s a bad idea…We also find that 42 percent of New Jerseyans think that Chris Christie helps the national republican parties image overall…And 41 percent of state residents say that their Governor helps New Jersey’s image around the country compared to 29 percent who say he hurts it.”

Murray adds Christie is sure to talk about bipartisanship at the Convention- and how it’s working well in New Jersey, but New Jerseyans don’t necessarily agree.

“Only 31 percent of New Jerseyans say that Christie and the Democratic leaders in the Legislature have been working well together – a majority of 53 percent say they have not…But it’s not the Governor’s fault, because 58 percent say both sides are equally to blame for the fact that there’s no real bipartisanship – so there’s no real Kumbaya here in New Jersey as far as the voters here see it.”