The latest Quinnipiac University Poll, released on the same day former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie officially kicks off his campaign for the governor’s seat, shows the Republican contender leading Democratic incumbent Gov. Corzine 44 to 38 percent.

The poll indicates Corzine is losing ground; in Quinnipiac’s last survey on the election, in November, the governor led Christie 42-36.

The latest poll found voters disapprove of the job the Corzine is doing by 50-41 percent.

“Republican Christopher Christie has broken out of the gate as a strong challenger to Gov. Jon Corzine,” said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “In less than four months, he has come from trailing the governor by six points to leading him by six points – a 12-point shift.”

“In that time, Corzine’s approval rating has slipped only a couple of points, but Christie’s favorability ratings have jumped by nine points,” Richards added.

“Corzine suddenly has become the underdog in this race and history will surely repeat itself in New Jersey in 2009. The big question is whether Corzine will come back like Democratic Gov. Brendan Byrne did in 1977 or go down to defeat like Jim Florio in 1993,” Richards said.

Still, incumbent Corzine has the advantage of being, well, the incumbent.  A full 61 percent of voters don’t know enough about Christie to form an opinion, but that’s down from 70 percent who said the same in November.

The poll found Christie is well ahead of his next closest Republican competitor, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan. The other Republican candidates, Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine and Assembly member Rick Merkt both trail by a considerable margin.

The poll surveyed New Jersey registered voters from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 and has a margin of error of +/-2.9 percentage points.