Politics

GOP donors beg Chris Christie to reconsider run for president

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Make no mistake: If Chris Christie would make a late entry into the Republican presidential race, he wouldn’t have a money problem.

The nationally popular New Jersey governor is being begged by some of the richest Republicans in the country to reconsider his decision not to run for president in 2012. (Gov. Christie OKs NJ medical marijuana program)

Wealthy donors, including billionaires, pressed him to run during a conference call Tuesday led by Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, according to the New Jersey Star Ledger. But Christie isn’t budging.

“I said nothing different to him than I did to others in the past,” Christie said at a Tuesday news conference about the conference call, the paper reported. He declined to elaborate.

But the Star Ledger points out that Christie hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2016.

A spokesman with Christie’s office declined to comment on the conference call when reached for comment by The Daily Caller.

Yet Fox News reported that Christie told the fundraisers that he’s not enthused about a run in 2012 because of the effect it would have on his family.

Despite his repeated denials that he’s going to run, Christie plans to go to Iowa next week for a summit on education and to help Republican Rep. Steve King raise money for his campaign.

And while Christie remains a rock star in Republican circles across the country, his popularity at home in New Jersey has declined, according to a Public Policy Polling poll released Wednesday: only 43 percent of the state’s voters approves of Christie.

“The fallout of Christie’s declining approval numbers is that he would now trail Newark Mayor Cory Booker in a hypothetical 2013 match up, 47-43,” according to PPP.

That’s something die-hard Christie supporters hope would force him to consider — again — that the timing is right now to get in the race.