On Wednesday, a poll conducted by Monmouth University and Asbury Park Press revealed that 52% of the 803 New Jersey adult participants believed that the internal poll conducted by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP was done to vindicate Governor Chris Christie from the George Washington Bridge lane closures. The Wall Street Journal said that the law firm was tapped by Christie in January this year to provide an unbiased view on who and why the lane closures were ordered. Only 30% of the poll participants believed that the results of the internal poll were fair and unbiased.
Perhaps it was the fact that Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher represent the Christie administration in the light of the lane closures scandal was a contributing factor to not only the majority of the Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll participants' belief that the probe had political purposes, but that Christie's credibility has shrunk. WSJ said 46% of those who had heard about the Gibson Dunn probe disapproved of the job performance of the New Jersey governor, while only 47% gave their approval. Moreover, 56% of those who haven't heard of the internal probe disapproved Christie's latest performance, while only 34% approved.
Director Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute said about the results of the poll, "It's possible we could see a negative impact on Christie's rating as more New Jerseyans become aware of the report's contents."
On the other hand, the poll also revealed that Christie's popularity has stabilized following a drop at the time when the lane closures scandal broke in January this year. According to the poll, 51% still believed in Christie's work, while 41% gave their disapproval. WSJ noted that this was a bit better when compared to poll results in February, but were lower than the poll results in December last year.
