Gov. Chris Christie talks about pension reform during town hall meeting on Long Beach Island.
Staff photo by Bob Bielk
Chris Christie is back on top of the potential Republican presidential candidates in CNN polling for the first time since the George Washington Bridge lane closures exploded into a national scandal.
Thirteen percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said the New Jersey governor is their choice for the party’s 2016 nomination if the contest took place now. But it still looks like a long horse race and Christie adviser William Palatucci said, “I pay absolutely no attention to polling regarding 2016.’’
With the question’s margin of error of 4.5 percentage points, four other potential Republican presidential candidates – Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry and Paul Ryan – are virtually tied with Christie, though Christie and Perry had the biggest jump in support in the seven weeks since the last CNN/ORC International poll.
CNN polling late in 2013 indicated Christie was gaining a foothold as the early frontrunner for the party nomination. But the bridge scandal erupted in early January and knocked Christie down to sixth place in the March survey.
The new poll results also show buyers’ remorse with President Barack Obama – voters show a preference now for Republican Mitt Romney, who lost to Obama in 2012. At the same time, Romney is no match for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head matchup, the poll found.
