By Matt Rooney
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Christine Todd Whitman once wrote a book titled It’s My Party Too, but NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt says it’s finally time to make the divorce official.
“Politics is about making choices. Tonight, Governor Whitman made the choice to “appear” at the Democratic National Convention, speaking on the same evening as Socialist Bernie Sanders,” said Steinhardt in a Monday statement. “I don’t begrudge her that right, after all, this is America. But, no one in America should ever think that Christie Whitman represents the values of the New Jersey Republican Party.”
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“Governor Whitman can argue that she’s putting country over party, but she endorses a Democratic Party that supports lawlessness, treats the U.S. Constitution as an obstacle, would defund and disband our police departments, makes our communities less safe, and makes our State and Country less affordable,” added Steinhardt. “After she completes her endorsement of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tonight, she should complete her change of party designation form tomorrow. We’ll gladly donate the postage stamp.”
Whitman – a liberal Republican including during her tenure as New Jersey Governor in the late 1990s/early 2000s – has a long history of opposing the GOP’s conservative wing. She has also been a consistently shrill critic of Donald Trump. Consequently, her Monday night endorsement of Joe Biden surprised no one familiar with the ex-EPA head’s political trajectory.
Still, despite a track record of continuing to raise money for select Republicans during the Christie years, the party’s tolerance of Whitman has also waned in recent years.
Back in fall 2018, Whitman was forced out of a co-headlining role for a Middlesex GOP fundraiser after widespread criticism over her then-recent expressed wish that the GOP lose control of Congress.
