Poll: Most NJ Residents Feel Christie Is More Concerned With His Political Future Than With Governing The State

WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ (CBS) – As speculation about a Christie run for the presidency increases, the current New Jersey governor's ratings at home continue to slip.

According to a new poll from Monmouth University, nearly two-thirds of Christie's constituents (66%) say he's more concerned with his own political future than he is about governing the state.

NJ residents are also becoming increasingly skeptical of the Governor's reasons for taking foreign trips. Sixty-five percent of New Jerseyans see his recent trip to Great Britain "as designed to boost his presidential prospects."

Furthermore, Gov. Christie doesn't even have a really significant advantage over his fellow Republicans in a hypothetical 2016 run for the White House. When he's pitted against former Florida governor Jeb Bush, 47% of the Garden State's Republicans would choose Christie versus 37% who would vote for Bush.

"Bush's competitiveness among Garden State Republicans should give the governor pause," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which conducted the survey.

Overall, 52% of New Jersey residents polled feel Christie does not have the right "temperament" to be president.

The results come just two days after Christie made some controversial remarks about vaccines while in England.

Monmouth University says its poll was conducted by phone from January 30th to February 2nd and included 805 adults. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent.