More people now think New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is mostly not telling the truth about whether he knew of subordinates directing lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, according to a new poll that shows Mr. Christie’s numbers taking a hit in the wake of the scandal.
Twenty-two percent of Americans view Mr. Christie favorably, compared to 29 percent who view him unfavorably, said a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. A few months ago, Mr. Christie had a 33 percent/17 percent favorable/unfavorable split.
Mr. Christie has denied direct knowledge of the lane closures; 42 percent say he is mostly not telling the truth and 44 percent say he’s mostly telling the truth.
The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., has also alleged retaliation involving the threat by Lt. Gov. Kim Gualdagno of withholding Superstorm Sandy relief money unless the Democratic mayor supported a private development project — a charge Ms. Gualdagno has vehemently denied.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this poll with the Democratic firm Hart Research Associates, told NBC News it’s too soon to know how these scandals ultimately affect Mr. Christie’s White House ambitions. But Mr. McInturff did say that “it changes the starting point of a national campaign.”
The poll of 800 adults was conducted from Jan. 22-25 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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