The Hill News

A new poll showing New Jersey voters disapprove of President Obama's job performance provides more troubling news for the White House.

The poll also bolsters prospects for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who is still rumored to be considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

{mosads}New Jersey voters disapprove, 52 percent to 44, of Obama’s job performance, the president's lowest score ever in the state, according to the poll, released Wednesday by Quinnipiac.

Those polled also said, by a margin of 49 to 45 percent, that the president does not deserve to be reelected. By contrast, voters approve of Christie by a 47-46 percent margin, despite continued economic struggles.

The news could spell trouble for Obama, whose reelection campaign hinges on holding a Democratic base increasingly anxious about economic conditions. The trends in New Jersey mirror a nationwide slip for the president, who hit an all-time ! low of just 39 percent approval in Gallup’s national tracking poll earlier this week.

Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said the economy had taken a toll on Obama’s popularity.

The White House has clearly taken note. Obama is on the road this week in three crucial Midwestern states, where he is lambasting Congress and talking jobs. Obama will deliver a major economic speech after Labor Day that will include new proposals to create jobs, according to a senior administration official.

Christie, meanwhile, continues to score points as a cost-cutter and budget-balancer, qualities that could boost his chances in a Republican primary. New Jersey voters say by 39 percent to 31 that Christie is a better cost-cutter and budget- balancer than popular New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with 27 percent undecided.

"Looking across the Hudson, some pundits say Gov. Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are ! ideological twins. New Jersey voters aren't so sure, and they ! think th eir governor is better than New York's at curbing costs and cutting budgets," Carroll said.

Christie also seems little affected by an asthma attack that hospitalized the governor at the end of last month. Only 18 percent of voters said they were concerned about Christie’s health.

"Almost all the neighbors heard about Gov. Christie's asthma attack. They might have read his lament about being overweight, but they're not worried about his health," Carroll said.

Obama can take heart in some news out of New Jersey.

By a margin of 45 percent to 37, voters still say they would vote for Obama over an unnamed Republican challenger in the 2012 presidential race â€" although the poll was conducted before the entry of Texas Gov. Rick Perry into the Republican field. The president won 56.8 percent of the vote in New Jersey in 2008.