The 2016 presidential campaign season is inching closer and closer as news coverage begins to increase and people begin to weigh in. It seems like there are a few top contenders for the nominations by each political party, but more eyes are looking towards the Republicans to provide a viable candidate to take back the Oval Office. One of the candidates in the spotlight is New Jersey’s own governor, Chris Christie. However, according to a recent Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, 59 percent of New Jersey voters do not think that he would make a good president. I decided to make the poll a bit more hyperlocal and ask the opinions of a few of my fellow Rutgers students. The majors and interests in politics vary, but I did make sure that everybody knew who Chris Christie is before asking.

“I think he would be an okay president because I feel like, for the most part, besides the Bridgegate scandal, he is very intentional about the things that he does and has ideas about where he wants to go with things.” – Eileen, Junior, Animal Science Major

“I love Christie as a person. I’d definitely hang out with him, but he’s really a Jersey guy. I don’t know if the rest of the country could handle him like we could. The way he talks to people is real and blunt and I love it, but other countries might not.” – Ray, Sophomore, Biology Major

“I’m politically uneducated, but I was listening to the news and I heard that last year, he had a 63 percent approval rating and it went down to 37 percent because he doesn’t do anything for our state anymore. If you forget where you come from, then you won’t be a good president. But I will say that he did do a great job with Hurricane Sandy.” – Alexis, Junior, Communications Major

"I think Christie would be a good president because he sticks firmly to his beliefs. His tactics may be seen as aggressive, but he knows how to get people interested in the issues. He is not ignorant to what needs to change in New Jersey and America and will propose whatever needed to make those changes. He cares more about creating positive change than what people think of him." – Katie, Junior, Communications Major

“All I hear about him is that he hates teachers and education. He wouldn’t make a good president.” – Lauren, Senior, Voice Performance Major

“I LOVE Christie. He is the best, but he wouldn't be a good president because he's unable to keep his poise and is very defensive.” – Joe, Senior, Political Science Major

So it looks like, even if students love him, they agree with the rest of New Jersey and do not think that he would be able to handle himself well as President. As most of the nation witnessed, a group of Rutgers students publicly protested the presence of Condoleezza Rice as the honored speaker at commencement last spring, so we are definitely outspoken about the direction in which we want the country to go. Now we’ll just have to wait and see if our governor jumps into the race officially or not.