FLEMINGTON, N.J. – Chris Christie’s influence in New Jersey Republican politics could be waning.
A new example: on Friday, among a chorus of elected Republicans vocally standing by Kate Gibbs in her newly-inaugurated NJ-03 GOP primary with David Richter, a North Jersey Republican leader had tough words for the former governor.
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“It’s too bad party leaders like former Governor Christie ignore qualified candidates like Kate Gibbs who have come up through the ranks and earned the chance to run due to their hard work, loyalty and experience,” Hunterdon County GOP chairman Patrick Torpey told New Jersey Globe. “He should remember where he came from and try giving Kate the same chance and encouragement Governor Kean gave him.”
Torpey isn’t just a county chair; he’s a lobbyist and long-time GOP establishment figure who served on Governor Christie’s finance team. He was also the Hunterdon County Coordinator for Christie-Guadagno in 2013.
It’s been reported that Chris Christie coaxed Richter to leave the NJ-02 primary (where Jeff Van Drew is the incumbent) and enter the NJ-03 race. Earlier this month, Christie confident Bill Palatucci was frozen out of negotiations in NJ-07 and NJ-11 when a deal was crafted by county-level leaders to avoid a primary for Tom Kean Jr.
Torpey’s county is a healthy drive away from the 3rd, but the chairman is a close ally of Gibbs’s GC and NJ-03’s go-to political consultant Chris Russell.
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