Poll: Bridge scandal takes toll on Christie popularity in New Jersey

So, how's New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's bridge scandal playing at home? Well, for an answer, check out this chart showing his home state favorability rating from early 2010 through the most recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll released earlier today (pdf):

That's pretty sudden sudden fall from grace — Christie's favorable rating is now 46-43, a net drop of 25-points from November's election. The silver lining for Christie is that he still has a net positive rating (albeit barely) and his job approval is above 50 percent, but at a minimum, his long Hurricane Sandy honeymoon is over.

With Christie's numbers back where they were before the hurricane hit, the question is whether they will stabilize —  which would suggest that this is a return to "normal" — or if they will continue to drop. The answer to that will largely depend on the outcome of the investigation into his administration's actions on the bridge scandal and other related inquiries, such as the questions surrounding Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's allegation that the Christie administration used Sandy relief aid to lobby for favored real estate developers.

One amusing finding from the poll was that people who use the George Washington Bridge regularly were much harsher in their appraisals of Christie than those who didn't. His favorable rating was 37 percent among regular bridge commuters, 45 percent occasional commuters, and 51 percent among those who never use it. Correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, but it's clear the Chris Christie shouldn't expect to rely on George Washington Bridge commuters as a political base.