PHILADELPHIA — Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday mixed his out-of-state stumping for Republican candidates with appearances for Garden State hopefuls as campaign finance reports in New Jersey show the GOP with its first edge over Democrats in a decade. On a day that took him from Red Bank to Philadelphia, Christie spoke at fundraisers, shook hands at an Irish pub...
PHILADELPHIA — Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday mixed his out-of-state stumping for Republican candidates with appearances for Garden State hopefuls as campaign finance reports in New Jersey show the GOP with its first edge over Democrats in a decade.
On a day that took him from Red Bank to Philadelphia, Christie spoke at fundraisers, shook hands at an Irish pub and posed for pictures with supporters. In the latest leg of a month-long, cross-country political tour that has raised his national profile in the Republican Party, Christie said the GOP has the momentum this election cycle.
"We’re not going to have to wait until 2012 to take our country back," he told Republicans at a fundraiser in Bucks County, Pa. "We will take our country back overnight on Nov. 2."
Christie started and finished his day in New Jersey. His first destination was Bernardsville to raise money for state Sen. Tom Goodwin (R-Mercer), who is facing Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex) in a special election.
Next he crossed into Pennsylvania, to speak a fundraiser for U.S. congressional candidate Mike Fitzpatrick outside a Bucks County concrete company headquarters about five miles from the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton.
"With 14 days to go, it is put up or shut up time for our party," Christie said. "It is time for our party to make the tough decisions that need to be made."
Donors mingled, ate hors d’oeuvres and posed for photos with Christie, then sat at circular banquet tables under a tent to hear speeches. Many Fitzpatrick supporters said they would have attended the fundraiser with or without Christie, but described the presence of New Jersey’s tough-talking governor as a bonus.
John Lawlor, a Fitzpatrick supporter who owns a fire protection business, said Christie was the reason he showed up.
"It was the difference between slogging over here to southern Bucks County on a Tuesday or staying at work," he said. "I’ve really admired the way he’s stuck to his agenda. I wish there were a few more Chris Christie’s in office."
Fitzpatrick is fighting to reclaim his U.S. House seat from Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, an Iraq War veteran who ousted him in 2006. With Republicans poised to make significant gains in Congress, he’s leading Murphy in the polls by double digits.
Christie’s next public appearance was at the Irish Pub in downtown Philadelphia, where he stumped for Tom Corbett, the Republican state attorney general running for governor. He also joined Corbett at a fundraiser at a downtown hotel where the campaign hoped to generate a half million dollars. A new poll shows Corbett with a 14-point lead over Democrat Dan Onorato.
Christie’s political tour ended back in New Jersey last night, where he campaigned in Red Bank for Anna Little, the tea party favorite challenging U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.)
With Christie as governor, New Jersey Republicans are gaining financial strength, according to a report released Tuesday by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.
In the third quarter of this year, the state’s three major Republican committees took in $609,304, topping the Democrats’ $375,411. It was the first time Republicans have won a quarterly fundraising battle in a decade, ELEC records show.
And while Democrats outraised Republicans $1.7 million to $1.5 million for the first nine months of this year, it’s a far cry from at this point in 2009, when Democrats had raised three times more than the GOP.
"People are enthusiastic about what’s going on in New Jersey," Christie said. "People want to support those policies by supporting Republican candidates."