Run, Chris, run!
A group of influential Iowa Republican activists dined with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in Princeton last night in a bid to get him to run for president.
The unusual trip by Iowa leaders to the Garden State to draft Christie is a sign of growing displeasure with the current crop of Republican candidates stepping forward to take on President Obama in 2012, GOP officials said.
“There isn’t anyone like Chris Christie on the national scene for Republicans,” Iowa energy baron Bruce Rastetter said in launching his personal “Iowans for Christie” campaign.
Another Christie fan, businessman Gary Kirke, told the Des Moines Register, “We just want him to know he’s welcome in Iowa, but it’s nothing against the rest [of the candidates]. He’s a get-in-your-face type of guy. Real leadership and no BS.”
Christie, in his second year as governor, repeatedly insists he has no interest in running for president in 2012 — though he has boasted he could win.
His record thus far of slashing spending and standing up to labor unions has made him a new darling of GOP activists.
Even Iowa Republicans backing other candidates agree that if Christie were to enter the race, he would be a formidable candidate in the Hawkeye State’s first-in-the-nation caucus vote.
“People want a muscular candidate, a can-do candidate. They want a zeitgeist candidate. They want a candidate with traditional family values who can rescue America from this economic mess,” said Jamie Johnson, a former Christian-radio broadcaster who is aiding Rick Santorum’s presidential bid in Iowa.
“I don’t see Christie able to win Iowa . . . [but] he’ll turn heads. He’s an emerging force in the Republican Party,” Johnson said.
Christie and his top aides said the attention is flattering.
“I’m a kid from Jersey who has people asking him to run for president. I’m thrilled by it. I just don’t want to do it,” Christie told a radio interviewer.
Christie campaign adviser Mike DuHaime said, “It’s a testament that he’s doing a good job as governor. He’s taking on the challenge of cutting the state budget, saying no to taxes and pushing for pension reform and a property-tax cap.”
Longtime Christie friend and confidant Bill Palatucci quipped that the governor “is a Sicilian who has already made up his mind [not to run].”
“We find it flattering that the governor’s policies are generating this much interest. Big fans want to come for dinner? Sure.”
Christie also has fans in New York, particularly if Rudy Giuliani ultimately passes on a 2012 run.
Long Island Rep. Peter King said Christie can connect with independents and Reagan Democrats as well as conservatives — something King sees as lacking with the current field of Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Santorum and Ron Paul, among others.
New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox said, “This dinner is just a tip of the iceberg, with Republicans from all around the country urging Gov. Christie to run for president because of his excellent record in New Jersey.”