New Jersey voters give President Barack Obama a commanding lead over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and you shouldn’t expect Garden State Governor Chris Christie to come to the Republican’s rescue.

Governor Chris Christie and Mitt Romney
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A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Christie would be a non-factor if placed on the Romney ticket.

Obama leads Romney 49 – 40% in the New Jersey presidential race, a lead that only shrinks to 49 – 42% if Christie runs as Romney’s vice presidential pick.

“Governor Christopher Christie on the GOP ticket as vice-presidential candidate barely trims the Democratic edge,” says poll director Mickey Carroll. “If Christie went all out as a candidate, could he switch the state to his party? The numbers show he’d have to go into overdrive, especially among women and black voters.”

Christie has said he doesn’t think his personality lends itself to being the number-two guy and has repeatedly said he’s not interested in running as a vice presidential candidate. Today’s survey shows many voters aren’t so sure about that.

Carroll explains, “Almost half the state’s voters, 47%, think it’s very likely or somewhat likely Christie will be tapped as VP – but 65% agree with his own assessment that he’s not right for the job.”

There is a large gender gap with or without Christie on the ticket. Men would vote for a Romney-Christie ticket 50 – 42%, while women would vote for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden 55 – 35%. Independent voters split 42 – 42%. White voters back the Republican ticket 52 – 39%, while African-American voters go Democratic 89 – 6%.

Voters give Obama a 51 – 46% job approval and say 51 – 46% he deserves reelection. Voters, 52 – 43%, have a favorable opinion of the President. Romney has a split 39 – 37% favorability rating.

There’s a U.S. Senate race in New Jersey this year too. Incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez leads his little-known Republican challenger, GOP State Senator Joe Kyrillos, 44 – 35%, with support of 79 – 5% among Democrats and a slight 38 – 34% edge among Independent voters. Republicans back Kyrillos 78 – 8%. By a 35 – 27% margin, voters have a favorable opinion of Menendez, with 37% who don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. For Kyrillos, 79% don’t know enough about him to form an opinion.

“U.S. Senator Robert Menendez vs. State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos? At this stage, a single-digit lead for Menendez,” says Carroll. “No one knows Kyrillos, but Menendez’s numbers are lackluster, to say the least. This race could get interesting.”

From April 3 – 9, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,607 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The survey includes 513 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.

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