Question:

Voters approve 74 - 21 percent of the job Gov. Christie is doing, his highest job score ever and matching New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as having the highest job approval of any governor in the states surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Christie's approval is 93 - 4 percent among Republicans, 56 - 37 percent among Democrats and 78 - 18 percent among independent voters. Men approve 79 - 18 percent while women approve 69 - 24 percent.

The governor deserves reelection, voters say 68 - 24 percent, with Democrats at 47 - 43 percent. Christie leads possible Democratic challengers by margins of 2-1 or higher:

59 - 30 percent over State Sen. Richard Codey;
63 - 22 percent over State Sen. Barbara Buono;
61 - 25 percent over State Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

In these hypothetical matchups, Christie takes 30 to 35 percent of the Democratic vote.

Codey leads the Democratic primary pack with 28 percent, with Buono and Sweeney at 10 percent each. Early in the election cycle, 43 percent of Democrats are undecided.

About this Poll

From January 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,647 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The survey includes 616 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.