Christie joins 2016 field

Chris Christie got his White House bid off to a trouble-free start on Tuesday, launching from his old high school in Livingston, N.J., with a speech that showed off the pugnacious style he hopes will revive his 2016 chances.

Joined onstage by his wife and children, Christie talked at length about his upbringing in the Garden State, signaling the centrality of New Jersey to his persona and political career.

{mosads}He argued the state’s Democratic-leaning nature and demographic diversity gave him credibility as the candidate to heal the dysfunction afflicting Washington.

“We have to do it together; we have no choice but to work together,” he said of New Jersey, before adding, “This country has no choice but to work together again, not against each other.”

The central question Christie faces is whether his abilities on the stump and on the debate stage will be enough to revitalize his hopes of winning the nomination. His odds have lengthened more than could have been imagined in 2012, when major GOP donors pleaded with him to get into the presidential race.

Still, past opponents — including the governor he ousted, Democrat Jon Corzine — have underestimated Christie’s political skills, which he exhibited once again in Tuesday’s high-energy speech, delivered without the safety net of a teleprompter.

The address had a zigzag quality, emphasizing his pragmatism and open-mindedness one minute but his Republican zeal and love of political combat the next.

He repeatedly assailed President Obama as weak on foreign policy and warned voters that, at the conclusion of the president’s tenure, “we better not turn it over to his second mate, Hillary Clinton.” It was the sole mention of the Democratic front-runner in Christie’s 27-minute speech.

The Christie campaign is seeking to make the candidate’s rambunctious personality a strength. His slogan is “telling it like it is,” and he pledged in Livingston that his campaign would be “without spin and without pandering.”

Christie faces a long climb to win the GOP nomination.

He currently places ninth in the national RealClearPolitics average and does even worse than that in the first-caucus state of Iowa.

The governor’s supporters think his take-no-prisoners style could help him stand out on the debate stage, but it’s not certain he’ll get to go toe-to-toe with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other top-tier candidates.

Christie must remain in the top 10 nationally in order to make it into the first two GOP televised debates.

His once-bright star began to fall in some quarters shortly before Election Day 2012, when his literal and figurative embrace of Obama in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy provoked much unhappiness on the right. 

There had also been grumbling within the GOP about his speech at the Republican National Convention that same year, which critics said was much more about burnishing his own image rather than offering full-throated support to the party’s nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But it was the “Bridgegate” scandal that really sped Christie’s decline. The furor over the closing of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, apparently as an act of political retribution against a local mayor, has left some former aides facing criminal charges. Despite Christie’s repeated denials of personal involvement, polls indicate the episode has left a large question mark in many voters’ minds over the governor’s ethical propriety. 

Add to all this a plethora of economic troubles for New Jersey — from unemployment that is higher than the national average to a succession of credit downgrades — and it becomes clearer why Christie is so embattled.

Debates aside, Christie appears to be placing all of his chips on the New Hampshire primary, the second contest in the nominating process. He left for the Granite State immediately after his announcement and will remain there through the end of the week.

New Hampshire would seem more amenable to a candidate cut from Christie’s cloth — Northeastern, relatively moderate and adept at retail politics. But there are other contenders who also fancy their chances there — notably Bush, who currently leads in most New Hampshire polls — and they will provide Christie with stiff competition. 

Adding to his difficulties, New Hampshire will likely be a must-win state for him, whereas others, including Bush, could live to fight
another day, so long as they do not suffer a disastrous result.

More generally, Christie will need to persuade Republican voters to take another look at him, even amid a GOP field that now numbers 14 official entrants. The number is likely to swell to 16 by the end of July, by which point Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are expected to have announced their candidacies.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was one of the few already declared Republican candidates to make a point of welcoming Christie to the race. Cruz released a statement saying, “He is bold, he is brash and I’m always glad to see Republicans get elected in blue states.”

While the general consensus among cable news pundits was that Christie had acquitted himself well at his launch, some conservative outlets appeared less impressed.

The Weekly Standard called his speech “rambling” and made a point of noting that “despite his rhetorical talents, he stumbled over a few lines.”