New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivered his State of the State address, and his speech could further ignite speculation of a presidential election run.

While Christie's address did address several issues within New Jersey, he made references to the U.S., as a whole. Christie acknowledged the Garden State's balancing five consecutive annual budgets and said, "we didn't do it the Washington way, by raising taxes."

"We did it by cutting spending, shrinking government, and fundamentally reforming the way government operates. This administration believes today -- and has always believed -- that New Jersey and America, will be a better place for middle class families by shrinking the size of government," said Christie.

Christie also made pension and health benefits a national issue. He said, "[Of] all the long term challenges we face, one of the largest and most immediate is our obligation to provide pension and health benefits for state and local employees. This is not just a New Jersey problem. This is a national problem. States across the country are struggling to fund critical programs because pension and health costs are eating up taxpayer dollars."

Christie also recognized America's economic recovery, first, ahead of the progress of New Jersey.

"Now coming out of the last recession, America remains a country ill at ease. America's economy is growing, but it is not growing enough," said Christie. "New Jersey's economy is growing, but it is not growing enough. Last week's jobs report was good, but real wages declined. The economy is simply not as strong as it could be, or as it should be.We are a nation beset by anxiety. It is understandable."

The New Jersey governor said America's leadership among the international community "is called into question because of a pattern of indecision and inconsistency."

He mentioned he travels across the country during the last year, from Chicago, Maryland, Kansas, Colorado, Maine, Arkansas and Florida.

"We need a New Jersey renewal and an American renewal," said Christie, although he added he's committed to New Jersey.

"The way that Christie delivered the speech was national in nature," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, via Reuters. "The main message for the 200 to 300 GOP party leaders was 'I'm still that guy that you all remember. I'm stable, I'm bipartisan, and I'm still that guy that you thought I was before Bridgegate.'"

According to Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll on Christie's job performance as governor, he received 39 percent of support from registered voters, although the figure is down compared to the 60 percent reelection victory vote in 2013. Meanwhile, 47 percent of respondents disapprove of Christie's handling as governor. In regards to the direction of the Garden State, 49 percent of respondents said they are concerned about the state while 36 percent are content.

"This is the first time Governor Christie faces a public with numbers like these in regard to his leadership," said Krista Jenkins, FDU political science professor and director of PublicMind. "Regardless of what he says, many in the state will receive his words with skepticism given their concerns over his leadership and the overall health of governance in New Jersey. Voters' increasing pessimism about the direction of the state mirrors their decreasing approval of the governor's performance."

Jenkins noted that decline of support during a second term is normal, especially for a Republican in traditionally blue state.

"These numbers point to the difficulty the governor is likely to have with the public as the clock moves toward 2016. Governing and campaigning are both full time jobs. Even though he's technically not doing the latter yet, the public seems to believe he's already starting to give up on the former," added Jenkins.

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