People close to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie believe he would join the Republican presidential ticket should he be offered the vice presidential slot by presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, National Review reports.
Christie has said that he “love(s)” his current job and recently reassured constituents that he was “not going anywhere.” However, Christie has also said that Romney “might be able to convince” him to take the job.
As it turns out, Christie might not need all that much convincing. “Christie is open to it, his family’s comfortable with it, and he’s been vetted before,” one “top state lawmaker” told National Review’s Robert Costa. “He isn’t going to campaign for it, but it’s no secret that he would relish the opportunity to play at that level.”
According to Costa, a consensus has developed among Trenton insiders that Christie is very open to the to joining the ticket, and the only question is whether Romney would be willing to share the stage with the larger-than-life New Jerseyian.
“It’s like asking Joe DiMaggio if he wants to play alongside Mickey Mantle,” one Jersey operative told the magazine. Veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins, meanwhile, said that while Christie would bring “star quality to the ticket and energize the base,” he could also “overshadow Romney” with his “big personality.”
“It’s fun to imagine him debating Vice President Biden,” one Christie ally said, “and then there’s the reality, if he’s picked, of going along with Boston’s plan — sticking to the script and playing a role.”
Still, whatever concerns the Romney campaign has about Christie’s ability to play second-fiddle could be overcome by what he can bring to the ticket: a Public Policy Polling survey released last month showed that Christie joining the ticket would give Romney a bigger boost in the polls than any of the alternatives.