July 7 Poll: Christie Still Ahead

July 7 -- Republican challenger Chris Christie has lost his post-primary bounce but still leads incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine in the New Jersey governor’s race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Christie with a seven-point lead over Corzine, 46% to 39%. A month ago, immediately following his GOP Primary victory, Christie led by 13 percentage points. The current numbers are just about identical to the pre-primary numbers from May.

Corzine has recently launched a series of attack ads questioning Christie’s ethics, and most analysts expect the race to tighten. New Jersey polls often show Republican candidates doing better early in the campaign with Democrats coming back in the fall. Corzine is expected to heavily outspend Christie, too.

A Republican has not won a statewide election in the Garden State since 1997.

The other good news for Corzine is that 42% of voters statewide are either undecided or say they could change their minds. However, the flip side of that is good news for Christie: Nearly six-of-10 voters say they’ve made up their minds. Among those voters, Christie leads by 16.

Now that the campaign season has been launched, Rasmussen Reports also pushed the undecideds to see which way they are leaning. When these “leaners” are included, Christie’s lead grows to 12 points, 53% to 41%.

Corzine is viewed favorably by 43% of voters and unfavorably by 46%. Fifty-seven percent (57%) have a favorable opinion of Christie, with 36% unfavorable. Corzine’s favorable ratings are up two points from a month ago, but Christie’s are up four.

Just 40% say they approve of the way Corzine is doing his job while 58% disapprove. That’s down two points from a month ago. Of particular concern for the governor should be the fact that just 16% Strongly Approve and 44% Strongly Disapprove.

Among those who could still change their mind, 60% disapprove of Corzine’s performance including 38% who Strongly Disapprove.

By a 55% to 32% margin, voters say they trust Christie more than Corzine on taxes. The gap is similar on the topic of cutting government spending: 54% trust Christie more while 29% trust Corzine. On the question of cutting government corruption, Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has a 57% to 28% advantage. On all three topics, Christie has a slightly larger edge than he did a month ago.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters believe that campaigning by President Obama will help Corzine. The president is viewed favorably by 55% of New Jersey voters and unfavorably by 44%. His numbers are a bit higher among those voters who can still be swayed.

Nationally, the president’s Job Approval ratings have slipped a bit in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.