The Hill News

New Jersey voters are overwhelmingly unenthusiastic about the prospect of their governor, Chris Christie (R), as a vice presidential nominee, according to a poll released Tuesday.

A Quinnipiac University poll finds 61 percent of Garden State voters saying Christie would not make a good vice president, compared to 32 percent who say he would.

Christie, a conservative darling, has repeatedly said that he is not interested in running for a position for the White House in 2012. The poll indicates that reversing course and doing so could hurt his standing with New Jersey voters. 

Several Republican activists have urged Christie to jump into the presidential field, or at least consider joining the ticket, to inject a dynamic candidate into what they see as a lackluster crop of contenders.

Democrats believe more fervently that Christie would be a bad vice president than Republicans think he would make a good one. Eighty-four percent of Democrats say he would make a bad vice president, compared to 63 percent of Republicans who say he would be good at the job.

The poll numbers are likely a reflection of Christie's falling popularity in New Jersey. His approval rating reached a new low in the June Quinnipiac poll, 44-47 percent. A separate poll conducted last month showed New Jersey voters split evenly over his approval rating. 

Christie, who has branded himself as a tough conservative reformer, faces reelection in 2013.