Since the start of 2015 there have been five major polls that I can find gauging the election status of the Republicans being the most recent the one conducted by Quinnipiac University. In this recent poll, they had Scott Walker surging to the top with our man Chris Christie in third with Huckabee with 8%. In the combination of four polls (Excluding CPAC) they have Christie in sixth with Scott Walker leading the way.
Again this is way early for the election and thousands of things can happen before the election but this is not the ideal situation to be in. Christie is favored in certain polls but in the PPP poll they have him 20% behind Walker. The democratic polling system certainly would not favor a man like Christie but it creates a tougher image of being way behind for him to fight. So often these polls do have bias and an agenda and that can occasionally cloud the results (Paul with the CPAC)
On the flip side of things, just being in top 5 of most early polls means that he is a legitimate contender with a strong "brand" name. People will see his name and immediately think possible next President of the United States.
Chris Christie is a powerful, outspoken man who will no doubt make a strong push for the candidacy. The early polls say that he has some work to do. It is not surprising since the Bridgegate scandal, but as time progresses and more scandals and other negatives arise with others, the importance of his scandal will dwindle. He is a legitimate candidate and he will take stock in these polls but not shut down because of it. He will make a full-out social media push and get a stronger name brand out and he will gain momentum.
Source:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html
