NEW JERSEY

Why Chris Christie is waiting to run for president

Bob Jordan
@BobJordanAPP

TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie is starting 2015 the same way he finished 2014, traveling the country like a presidential candidate without actually saying he's in the race.

Sunshine State voters will get a visit from Christie Tuesday when he attends the second inaugural of Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott in Tallahassee. Christie is also booked as a speaker Jan. 24 at the Iowa Freedom Summit organized by conservative power broker U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

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Christie will also be out of state Jan. 21 to attend the swearing-in of Maryland's new Republican governor, Larry Hogan, and will be in Illinois Feb. 12 for another political trip.

Other potential Republican 2016 presidential candidates will also be at the Iowa summit, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, departing Texas Gov. Rick Perry, real estate mogul Donald Trump, physician Ben Carson and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Like Christie, none from the group is a declared candidate. Past election cycles haven't yielded a reliable trend of when candidates announce — and if there was, the trend might not apply to Christie, said Matthew Hale, a Seton Hall University political science professor.

Hale said the Christie entry point will depend on what federal prosecutors find from their investigation into George Washington Bridge lane closures.

"All signs point to the governor getting into the race but he's got to get some confidence that there's nothing left from Bridgegate investigation," Hale said. "If there's anything that might be down the road, it might be better to get that story done before he declares."

Christie said he planned to discuss his potential 2016 presidential bid with his family over the holidays and make a decision soon after. Christie adviser Michael DuHaime noted that the trip to Iowa was scheduled several weeks ago.

"Congressman King and the governor have been friends for years, since before Christie was governor, so he accepted his invitation to attend his event," DuHaime said.

The first 2016 presidential nominating caucuses and primaries are 13 months away, according to tentative schedules, and there's already a date picked for a debate among Republican primary candidates — Sept. 16, 2015, at the Reagan Library in California.

"You're going to see the campaigns begin to gear up very quickly," said Katie Packer Gage, a political strategist who specializes in helping Republicans improve their standing with women voters.

Gage said Christie and other potential candidates, along with their consultants, at this point are immersed in details of the election process, including "spending a lot of time of looking at the task of getting on the ballot in each state," she said.

"Each candidate has to assemble a team of people they can rely on if they go forward and they have to reach out to donors and determine if there is a path for them financially," Gage said.

Christie reportedly has brushed up on his foreign policy expertise in late night telephone briefings led by former White House official Robert Grady. Gage, a deputy campaign manager for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, said Romney did the same kind of homework.

"There's a lot of complicated issues out there and before you put yourself out there on the stage, it's a very smart thing to get briefed by people who are experts," Cage said.

So far, among the best-known potential Republican candidates, only former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has gone so far as to say he is "actively" exploring a presidential run, an announcement he made on Facebook last month.

Bush's earlier start has some Christie supporters concerned that Bush will have the inside track with donors who are moderate Republicans, but billionaire Kenneth Langone, co-founder of The Home Depot who is passionate in his support of Christie, said the timing won't matter.

"He's going all the way to the top," Langone said of Christie in an interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network. "I think this guy will be a great president. I think this guy will tell it like it is. I'm backing Christie. I want to work every ounce of energy I have. I want to shake people's ankles (for campaign contributions) until there's not a nickel left in their pockets, upside down."

Mel Sembler, a Florida businessman who is former finance chair of the Republican National Committee, in a telephone interview was equally enthusiastic ab6out Bush and said a CNN poll that showed Bush with a double-digit lead over other GOP hopefuls "is not terribly surprising."

"Jeb was an outstanding governor down here in Florida and people around the country are picking up on what kind of leader he was," Sembler said. "I know Gov. Christie and I'm very impressed with him but I get the sense this thing with Jeb Bush is building."

Bob Jordan 609-984-4343, bjordan@app.com