New Jersey governor Chris Christie is heavily favored to be re-elected New Jersey's governor tomorrow. If he's re-elected by a large margin, by at least 10 percentage points, he will be regarded as a top prospect to be the Republican Party's nominee for president in 2016 on Wednesday morning.
Most of the Republican prospects for the presidency are regarded as diehard conservatives who are highly regarded by the Tea Party, but Christie, 51, will be regarded as a frontrunner because he will have won re-election in a "blue" state and, thus, many political observers will conclude that he can convince millions of moderates and independents to vote for him.
Christie's reputation for moderation was bolstered by his performance as governor last year after Hurricane Sandy devastated large parts of New Jersey a few days before Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. Christie chose at that time to be very cooperative with Obama and praised the president's efforts to help New Jersey rebuild. (I'm pretty sure the above photo was taken shortly after Hurricane Sandy.)
Christie's pre-election behavior was praised by independents and criticized by Republicans, but is he a moderate? Last year, I wrote an article for The Huffington Post that analyzed Christie's prospects as a vice presidential prospect. Romney ultimately chose the more conservative Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman. Many political observers, in fact, think that Christie's major problem is that he might be too liberal to win the GOP presidential nomination.
I wrote the article several months before Hurricane Sandy so it focused on whether Christie was a "champion of blue-collar voters," as his supporters said, or whether his gubernatorial record showed that he was "out of touch with people who are struggling," as a political opponent who tried to work with him charged.
The article also discussed his "polarizing personality." Christie is known for his temper tantrums and his bluntness. Many New Jersey voters like these characteristics, but it remains to be seen how this will play nationally.
Christie is clearly more liberal on the issues than people like Ryan, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz -- three of his potential 2016 rivals -- but he is also more conservative than many people who are voting for him.
Christie outspokenness in arguing that Republicans should be more bipartisan and work with Democrats has clearly helped him forge a reputation as someone who is more moderate than other politicians with the same conservative ideology. Time will tell whether his moderate style/conservative substance approach will work.
(For the record, The Huffington Post is a fraud when it purports to represent progressive values. It doesn't pay many of its writers. It didn't pay me one cent for this article. I was paid by someone else. It's a long story.)
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