Surprise: Christie more popular than the media trying to tear him down

According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, voters seem to believe New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie when he says he was uninvolved in the so-called "Bridgegate" scandal that has caught national media attention.

New Jersey voters approve 55 - 38 percent of the job Gov. Christie is doing, down from his all-time high 74 - 22 percent February 20, 2013. Women approve 55 - 37 percent while men approve 54 - 39 percent. Approval among Democrats drops from 56 - 38 percent last February to a negative 36 - 55 percent today.

"New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie is doing better with the public than with the news media. His job approval has dropped from the stratosphere, but it's still double-digit positive, pretty much where he was before his Superstorm Sandy hug with President Barack Obama," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

His support in the wake of the scandal remains strong, even among Democrats:

Some 93 percent of all New Jersey voters have read or heard something about the controversy surrounding the September traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge.

Voters in that group say 66 - 22 that the governor did not personally order the traffic jam. Even Democrats say 53 - 32 percent that Christie was not involved.

Among voters who know of Bridgegate, 41 percent say Christie knew what his aides were doing while 50 percent say these aides acted without the governor's knowledge.