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Poll: NJ Voters Continue To Give Christie High Marks, Re-Election Support

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Gov. Chris Christie continues to ride a wave of strong support, according to the findings of the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

The governor has earned his fourth month of 70-plus percent approval in the poll released on Tuesday.

Registered New Jersey voters approve of the job Christie's doing, 70 to 23 percent. He also earned high marks from voters when asked whether he deserves to keep his job.

According to Quinnipiac University Polling Director Maurice Carroll, that's due in part to a relatively unknown challenger on the Democratic side.

"Who is that woman? The Quinnipiac University poll finds that opposition to Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey is all but anonymous. Seventy-nine percent of New Jerseyans tell the Quinnipiac poll they don't know enough about Barbara Buono, the state senator who'll be the Democratic nominee, to make a decision whether they like her or don't like her," Carroll told WCBS 880.

WEB EXTRA: Read Full Poll Results (pdf)

Christie has bipartisan support for re-election, the poll shows.

"Christie beats her in a potential match-up 60 to 25. And what a good poll it is for the governor - 70 to 23 overall job approval, two-thirds of New Jerseyans think he deserves re-election," Carroll told WCBS 880.

The poll also shows that voters are split over whether Christie should run for president or stay with his job leading the state, 46 percent to 47 percent, respectively.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,129 registered voters from March 19 to 24 by phone. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.

There was some good new for Buono, as she picked up the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police. The public safety union jumped into the gubernatorial race earlier than usual to back the Democrat in the race.

The 16,000 member union decided to back Buono at its mini-convention late Monday, foregoing the usual screenings with each candidate.

According to union president Ed Brannigan, the decision was made to back Buono because he said Christie lost the trust of the union members after promising as a candidate not to touch their pensions then reducing their retirement benefits and eliminating retirees' cost-of-living increases after being elected.

Buono was endorsed by another public safety union, the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey, last month.

Christie has the support of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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