Republican fundraiser Todd Christie insists that his brother, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, will not run for president in 2012, the Newark Star Ledger reports.
“I’m sure that he’s not going to run,” Todd Christie told the paper. “If he’s lying to me, I’ll be as stunned as I’ve ever been in my life.” (RELATED: Christie set to deliver Reagan Library speech amid rampant 2012 speculation)
The news comes a day after former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, a friend of the current governor, told National Review that Christie is giving a potential White House run “a lot of thought.”
“I think the odds are a lot better now than they were a couple weeks ago,” Kean said.
Christie is due to give a much-anticipated speech at the Reagan Library on Tuesday night. A spokeswoman for the governor say the speech, titled “New American Exceptionalism,” will show “how the United States’ role and significance in the world is defined by who we are at home.”
The speech, scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT, will be live streamed here.