New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's presidential campaign has been something of a joke to many. After the "Bridgegate" scandal, in which members of Christie's staff were found to have participated in a plot to shut down a lane of the George Washington Bridge as a means of political retribution for the Fort Lee, New Jersey mayor who had not supported the governor's re-election bid, his national profile has been severely tarnished. Once considered an early front-runner, Christie has had an extremely difficult time making any waves in a campaign dominated by the demagoguery of Donald Trump. In fact, the New York Times recently published an editorial calling for Christie's departure from the race. However, it seems the Christie campaign got a bit of a boost on Saturday following the endorsement of The New Hampshire Union Leader ten weeks before the New Hampshire primary.
As The New York Times reports, the endorsement comes early for the influential paper, which remained undecided until later in the past two election cycles with similarly crowded GOP fields. The paper defended their choice of Christie in the aftermath of the November 13th Paris attacks, claiming only Christie had the experience necessary to take on the threat of terrorism in the United States and abroad.
The New Hampshire Union Leader also went on to distinguish Christie from other candidates vying for the Republican nomination. The editorial read, " "Other candidates have gained public and media attention by speaking bluntly. But it's important when you are telling it like it is to actually know what you are talking about. Gov. Christie knows what he is saying because he has experienced it. And unlike some others, he believes in what he says because he has a strong set of conservative values."
The editorial comes in the face of rising poll numbers for Christie in New Hampshire. According to The New York Times, in the past few weeks, polls indicate that over half of likely Republican primary voters in the state view Christie favorably. This is a significant change in the attitudes toward the governor in recent months.
