Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie is appealing to “ChristieCrats” in a new re-election ad touting his bipartisan credentials.
The Youtube ad, which the Christie campaign is quick to note does not appear on television or radio, highlights the outburst of Democratic love for the governor following his high-profile embrace of President Obama after Hurricane Sandy late last October — a move that angered many national Republicans who felt the photo op damaged Mitt Romney’s chances in the 2012 presidential election.
“There are so many Democrats endorsing Chris Christie’s re-election that they actually have a name, ‘ChristieCrats,'” according to a WNYC news reporter, whose narration for a recent report is featured in the Christie advertisement. “So far, 43 elected Democrats have lined up behind Christie. They say they support the Republican because he welcomed President Barack Obama after Sandy. They liked when he criticized House Republicans for holding up relief funds. And they appreciate how he’s crossed party lines to support their communities.”
Christie’s praise for Obama after Sandy garnered tough criticism from conservatives. The New Jersey governor was not invited to the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference, with one source close to the conference saying that Christie has a “limited future” in the Republican Party.
Mad magazine also weighed in with a recent parody of the Christie-Obama relationship, running a piece entitled “Chris & Barack’s Jersey Shore Memories 2013” after Obama returned to New Jersey to tour Sandy damage with Christie this spring.
As The Daily Caller reported, Obama did not personally meet with Christie’s 2013 Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, at his New Jersey visit in late May, instead merely greeting her along with approximately 30 other people in a situation that included a photo line.
Christie leads Buono 61 percent to 29 percent, according to a July Quinnipiac University poll.
