By David Madden

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) — A newly released poll suggests that New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in a good position to retain his job in this year’s re-election effort.

More than two-thirds of the 1,600 registered New Jersey voters questioned by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute say Christie deserves a second term, including almost half the Democrats who responded to last week’s survey.

Poll director Mickey Carroll says that when Christie is put side-by-side against his only announced opponent, a North Jersey state senator, “Barbara Buono trails Governor Christie by 41 points — 63 to 22.”

Two other Democrats thought to still be in the hunt don’t fare much better:  state senate president and Gloucester County native Steve Sweeney trails Christie 61 to 25 percent, and state senator Richard Codey, who served as interim governor, does no better than 59-30.