New Jersey governor Chris Christie's presidential favorability ratings have been falling since December 2014. He is faring so poorly that a Langer Research poll conducted for ABC News and The Washington Post released today didn't even bother to put Christie on a graph of the Republican candidates. The report did publish Christie's raw numbers so I made a graph that shows how far he's fallen (above).
Christie's support among registered Republicans is 1%, so it's no surprise that he is scolding the press to "stop blathering" about Bridgegate and report on Hillary Clinton's email problems instead. But his tactic isn't working. Christie donors are pulling out in anticipation that the growing list dirty dealings at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will destroy any small chance Christie has of winning the Republican primary.
Tom Moran of New Jersey's Star-Ledger says that Christie's latest scandal involving United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek could "finally sink him."
Christie has been lying about Bridgegate on national TV as a habit, saying that federal prosecutors have ruled out filing more charges. That's not close to true, but it's revealing. He knows this scandal could kill him.
Another indictment would bring it back to center stage. [Former Port Authority Chairman David] Samson's role in the lane closures isn't clear, in part because he refused to answer questions during Christie's internal investigation. But if he is indicted over any of his behavior at the Port Authority, this scandal will be back in the news.
