By David Madden

New Jersey (CBS) – A newly released poll suggests New Jersey Governor Chris Christie enjoys a comfortable level of support among residents but he might want to rethink part of his strategy going forward.

The latest Fairleigh Dickinson Public Mind poll gives Christie a 55-percent overall approval rating.
That’s no surprise, given the trends of the last several months.

Poll director Krista Jenkins says two-thirds of those surveyed either love him or loathe him. It’s the rest that might give the Governor pause.

“In the middle you’ve got the remainder of registered voters who are kind of torn…to say they like him but they dislike his policies or they like his policies but they dislike him,” explained Jenkins.

Many of those are swing voters, independents and some Democrats who helped get Christie elected.

He’ll need them assuming he runs for re-election next year.

The Governor seems to like those Town Hall meetings as a way to get his message directly to people, but Jenkins says the survey shows they’re far more effective with Republicans and he may need something different to court those in the middle.