TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie hosted a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday night, sitting down with Mitt Romney for dinner at the governor's mansion. Nearly two dozen people, including some of Christie's top political advisers and party leaders, gathered for the meeting with the former Massachusetts governor at Drumthwacket, according to three sources. The sources described...
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie in this Oct. 15 file photo.TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie hosted a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday night, sitting down with Mitt Romney for dinner at the governor's mansion.
Nearly two dozen people, including some of Christie's top political advisers and party leaders, gathered for the meeting with the former Massachusetts governor at Drumthwacket, according to three sources.
The sources described the dinner as an informal discussion without any specific talk of endorsements in New Jersey's Republican presidential primary, which is still a year away. Romney has been laying the groundwork for a second presidential campaign, although he has not yet formally announced his candidacy.
The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the meeting.
Presidential speculation has swirled around Christie himself, but he has repeatedly denied any interest in running or serving as vice president. Instead, he's become a sought-after spokesman for the Republican Party, traveling across the country to campaign for candidates last year.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak declined comment, and a spokesman for Romney did not immediately return a phone message today.
Christie and Romney share a political ally in New Jersey: state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth).
Kyrillos chaired Christie's campaign for governor in 2009 and led Romney's campaign in the state's Republican primary in 2008. Romney won 28 percent of the Republican vote, trailing John McCain's 55 percent.
More than two years after losing the primary to McCain, the eventual nominee, national polls show Romney at the front of a crowded field of potential Republican presidential contenders. A Rasmussen poll released Monday said he's backed by 24 percent of likely Republican primary voters, ahead of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's 19 percent.
By Chris Megerian and Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau