New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is managing to compile some mind-boggling fundraising numbers for the gubernatorial reelection this year. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be too newsworthy but given his potential to be a candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016, it is wort noting.
Report from Bloomberg:
Governor Chris Christie is raising record cash for his re-election bid. A November landslide may help heal rifts with fellow Republicans and boost his standing as a possible candidate for president in 2016.
In December, before Democrats had even rallied around a candidate, Christie had amassed almost as much as he raised in the entire 2009 primary. He has since begun an out-of-state fundraising swing, with an event last month at Facebook Inc (FB). co- founder Mark Zuckerberg’s California home and an appearance last week in Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker.
Christie, 50, is enjoying record approval in New Jersey for his response to Hurricane Sandy. Almost half of Democratic voters say he deserves another term as he leads his challenger, state Senator Barbara Buono, by 36 percentage points.
Out of state, the governor has drawn criticism from some national Republicans for praising President Barack Obama’s help after the storm and scolding party members in Congress for aid delays.
“If he wants to run for president, he’s got to show that he’s got a capacity to raise big national money,” said Matthew Hale, who teaches politics at Seton Hall University in South Orange. “The more he can raise and the more donors he can tap into, those are people that down the road he can turn to for presidential fundraising.”
Money may be attractive to the Republican National Committee which measures success in dollar signs at this point in the presidential election cycle. However, whether Christie’s moderate brand of Republicanism will sell to the party base is the real question.
