Bridgegate has taken a toll on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s chances for the White House, a new poll suggested Thursday.
Christie sank to ninth place from his top spot among favored US politicians after the scandal over traffic lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, according to rankings from Quinnipiac University.
The poll measuring Americans’ sentiment toward political leaders was taken last week as the well-known Republican, who is often mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential contender, released an internal investigation two months after the lane shutdown made headlines.
Christie lost the top spot to liberal Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Quinnipiac’s “National Thermometer” poll.
“One of the worst winters in memory leaves Christie shivering as he drops from hot to chilly in the minds of America’s voters,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the schools polling institute.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, like Warren a Democrat, came in second.
Researchers asked nearly 1,600 registered voters to rate politicians on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating “warmer or more favorable” feelings.
People rated Christie at 45 degrees — down from nearly 56 degrees in January, before the bridge scandal raised questions about the governor’s ability to compete successfully as Republicans seek a candidate the 2016.
The poll, taken from March 26 to 31, has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Last Thursday, a law firm hired by Christie — at New Jersey taxpayers’ expense — cleared the governor and his current staff.
But many critics dismissed the findings as a whitewash, noting that key participants in the plan to close the lanes last September refused to be interviewed.
The poll showed that voters have warmed to other Republicans — even though they knew little about them.
US Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker all earned about 47 degrees on the index.
Warren came in first with nearly 49 degrees, but nearly half of those polled said they did not know enough about her.
In contrast, just 1 percent said they did not know Clinton, a former US senator who has been a national figure since she became first lady in 1993.
She came in with nearly 48 degrees.
“Secretary Hillary Clinton holds her own as some of the Republicans who topped the National Thermometer in January also cool in the frozen winds of winter,” Malloy quipped.
“A lot of voters don’t know much about Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but them that do give her a warm embrace.”