The day after Governor Christie announced he’ll run for re-election, a new poll finds his popularity soaring.

59 percent of registered voters support a second term for Gov Christie, according to the new Rutgers-Eagleton poll. That’s a dramatic difference from late September when only 44 percent favored his re-election. Professor David Redlawsk, Director of The Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, says people tend to pull together and support their leaders during times of crisis; however those numbers could change when things return to normal.

“The Governor has a lot of political capital right now because of how he handled the storm, and how he uses it will really determine to what degree his ratings come back down to a more normal level.”

The poll also pitted Christie against some hypothetical opponents including Mayor Booker. He comes out on top in every match-up.