Christie is scheduled to attend a fundraiser at a private home in a wealthy Ohio suburb, to headline town hall-style meeting in working-class suburb
Gov. Chris Christie (left) stops to answer a question outside the Chicago offices of the social networking website Facebook on Sept. 24.CINCINNATI, Ohio — Gov. Chris Christie, on the second leg of a month-long political tour, arrived in Ohio a short while ago on his way to campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich.
Christie's first order of business is a fundraiser tonight at a private home in a wealthy suburb. On Tuesday morning, Christie will headline a town hall-style meeting with Kasich in the working-class suburb of Harrison.
The Ohio governor's race is one of the most hotly contested in the country. Christie's appearance comes as voters begin early balloting on Tuesday. Polls now show Kasich's lead narrowing over incumbent Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.
Tim Burke, the local Democratic Party chairman in Cincinnati, said Christie is just another in a long parade of political figures who have visited Ohio to campaign for both candidates. He said Christie's status in the Republican Party will help the GOP raise funds, but he's not well-known in Ohio.
"I don't know that a whole lot of people would show up at any particular location just to hear the governor of New Jersey speak," Burke said. "We are Ohio."
Christie, a rookie governor who has attracted considerable national attention in recent months, began his tour a week ago with stops in California and New Mexico. He also went to Chicago last Friday to help announce on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" an unprecedented school reform program for Newark with Mayor Cory Booker and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg.
The governor plans to return to New Jersey on Tuesday and head back on the road next week. Among the states he will visit next week is Iowa, the first stop in the presidential primary season, leading some political analysts to suggest Christie is angling for a spot on the Republican national ticket in 2012.
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