New Jersey Governor Chris Christie enjoys a comfortable lead over his Democratic challenger State Senator Barbara Buono and has recently broken the approval rating of any Governor, but a Quinnipiac University poll released on March 7, 2013, shows that he would lose a Presidential race against Senator Hillary Clinton for President in 2016.
Polls like this which are so far in the future and built solely on likely candidates have to be taken with a huge grain of salt. So many variables in the world and 3 years of politics and world and local events can change all of that in an instant, the magic eight ball or an Ouija board may be just as reliable, but political pundits and junkies love to play with the political crystal ball.
The poll shows that Clinton would defeat three potential Republican presidential candidates if the 2016 presidential election were held today, with Christie second in a field of three Democrats and three Republicans selected by Quinnipiac University for a national poll. Vice President Joseph Biden and New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo would not fare nearly as well.
Former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State Clinton wins easily against any of the Republicans, topping Christie 45 - 37 percent; leading Rubio 50 - 34 percent and besting Ryan 50 - 38 percent. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "She obviously is by far the best known and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people. But it is worth noting that she had very good poll numbers in 2006 looking toward the 2008 election, before she faced a relative unknown in Barack Obama."
Brown underscores my earlier point that in the world of politics, the only guarantee is that there is no such thing as a guarantee.
"Although some Republicans don't think Christie is conservative enough for their taste, he runs best of the three Republicans tested and would defeat two of the top Democrats," Brown said. "He obviously is doing better than the Democrats' rising star, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite other indications of anti-Republican sentiment."
Imagine the fun that a Clinton – Christie race would entail. Two ego- driven domineering personalities from neighboring states taking the political ax to each other. Late night entertainers would have a field day with this one and I dare say it might even make Saturday Night Live funny and tolerable again.
Can you picture these two debating each other; this would be the super bowl of politics.
We are however, getting way ahead of ourselves, Christie has to beat his Democratic Challenger State Senator Barbara Buono to retain his seat as the Garden States top dog and although his polls numbers broke records in approval ratings, the biggest mistake he could make would to be to not take Buono seriously. Buono is a serious contender and expect this race to tighten up as time moves along. Christie, the underdog at the time., has to look no further than his own election defeating then Governor John Corzine to know that Jersey voters can surprise you.
From February 27, through March 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,944 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.
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