Hillary would beat ‘favourite’ Christie on home turf in hypothetical 2016 presidential poll

Hillary-ClintonWashington, Feb 21 : New Jersey voters would pick Governor Chris Christie over New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for president in 2016, but they would narrowly prefer former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to their own governor, a new poll has found.

The Quinnipiac University Poll found that New Jersey's Republican governor would beat the New York Democratic governor, 54 percent to 36 percent, if both ran for president.

But in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between Christie and Clinton, 49 percent of N. J. voters chose Clinton over the 45 percent who picked the state's GOP governor, the New York Daily News reports.

In a statement, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute director Maurice Carroll said that `if the 2016 presidential race shapes up to be the Battle of the Hudson, Native Son Christie tops New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on the west bank of the river, but is locked in a tight race with the Empire State''s favorite adopted daughter, Hillary Clinton'.

Otherwise, Christie continues to enjoy eye-popping approval ratings in his state. Quinnipiac said his 74 percent approval rating is the highest of any New Jersey governor in 17 years of its surveys, the report said.

The governor also has a wide lead over his likely challenger, Democrat Barbara Buono. In a matchup, he beats the little-known state senator, 62 percent to 25 percent, it added. (ANI)