Most Republicans Can't See Themselves Voting For Chris Christie

Not too long ago, polls suggested that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be a viable candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. However, support for Christie has dwindled, and few Republicans say they would consider voting for him.

A NBC/WSJ poll released Monday shows that only 32 percent of Republicans can see themselves supporting Christie for the presidential nomination.

A majority of respondents say they do not support Christie at all. Fifty-seven percent of Republican voters can not see themselves voting for Christie for the presidential nomination. Of the 14 potential candidates they were asked about, Republican survey participants are only less likely to support Donald Trump, who 74 percent of voters say they can not see themselves supporting.

In January, Christie established the Leadership Matters for America PAC, which allowed him to hire a staff and begin raising money for a presidential campaign.

But HuffPost Pollster, which aggregates all publicly available polls on elections, shows that support for Christie has been slipping since December 2013. Just 6 percent of Republican voters say they would vote for Christie if the primary were held today.

The decline began on the heels of "Bridgegate," which involved members of Christie's staff closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge in September 2013. This was seen as an act of revenge against the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, for not endorsing Christie in his reelection for governor.

The NBC/WSJ poll paints a more optimistic picture for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Although he has single-digit support in most primary polls, Rubio stands out as a viable candidate in this survey: 56 percent of Republicans say they can see themselves supporting him for president. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also garnered significant support from survey respondents.

NBC/WSJ surveyed 1,000 adults, including 229 Republican primary voters, through live interview in a landline and cell phone poll that ran from March 1 to March 5.