Despite his warm embrace and glowing words of praise to President Barack Obama, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may still be a top contender for the 2016 Republican nominee for president, according to some political pundits.
However, the rotund head of the Garden State is still dealing with some of the backlash from stuffy GOP officials, still miffed at the hymns of praise heaped on the president by Christie during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy–all of which occurred just days before the election.
Christie, 50, who supported nominee Mitt Romney, was actively pursued by the GOP to run for president. After waffling on whether he would seek the nomination, Christie finally announced earlier this year that he would not run, but he left the door open for 2016. He delivered the keynote address at the Republican Convention, which many contend was self-aggrandizing.
Among the many politicos who predicted Romney would not beat Obama was conservative and controversial Ann Coulter. Coulter said Christie would have been the only GOP candidate to defeat Obama.
“I said it before–if we didn’t run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee, and we’ll lose, and we did,” Coulter said. Coulter, 50, lives in New York City and has battled dozens of notable African-Americans, including the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, on various issues over the years. Some of her earlier comments regarding Christie were made late last year at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
Lastly, Christie, who has sat at the helm of the Garden State since November 2009, has made it clear that he has other political goals and aspirations that may well extend beyond the governorship of New Jersey. Christie is up for re-election next year.