Why Chris Christie is wading into Iowa

Gov. Christie campaigns with Iowa's Governor Branstad days before Election 2014.

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Gov. Christie campaigns with Iowa's Governor Branstad days before Election 2014.
Gov. Christie campaigns with Iowa’s Governor Branstad days before Election 2014.

N.J. Pollster Patrick Murray says “schizophrenic.” PR guru Dan Cirucci? Resistant to “categorization or compartmentalization.”

However you choose to describe Governor Chris Christie’s 2016 strategy to date, Save Jerseyans, what’s undeniable is that it hasn’t gone according to plan. It’s with that backdrop that New Jersey’s top GOP’er heads to Iowa this weekend at a time when his polling there remains lackluster despite frequent trips to the state and that silly pig crate dust-up.

So what’s he doing in a state with a primary electorate that’s not exactly dying to vote for a Northeastern centrist? Yes, of course it’s be nice to perform surprisingly well in Iowa and ride the positive expectations game momentum into New Hampshire. Still…

My best guess: project strength. Keeping his options open.

Defections nationally and in his own backyard are even more problematic than they would ordinarily be right now since a delayed launch timetable (Bridgegate uncertainty?) is already complicating, to a degree, the important work of keeping the extended Christie network in place. His RGA work yielded dividends, to be sure, but the entry of a Bush and Mitt Romney into the fray (they met in Utah this week, fyi) has neutralized many other valuable IOUs at least for the time being.

By attending the inaugural of a governor who’s compared you to Reagan, and leaking the decision to tap his former campaign political director (a former college classmate of mine named Phil Valenziano, btw, who knows the caucus system out there inside-and-out) to head up your own efforts in the state, Team Christie is reminding pundits, voters, operatives and donors that his reach remains nationwide. And formidable.

Saturday’s appearance will still illustrate the challenge associated with what Chris Christie is trying to accomplish. The format for this year’s Iowa Freedom Summit is an interview-style sit-down conducted by Rep. Steve King, a conservative firebrand who’s to the right of Christie on key issues including immigration but who has nevertheless called on the New Jerseyan for campaign help in the past.

To what end? Stay tuned.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8390 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

7 Comments

  1. RINOs like Christie, Bush, Romney etc. can’t win in Iowa. I say Santorum or Huckabee have the best chance. I like Ted Cruz but he needs to start campaigning sooner rather than later.

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