New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received the first major endorsement for his presidential campaign Wednesday, from embattled Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R).
The endorsement comes the same day that a legislative watchdog committee is meeting to investigate ethics charges against LePage.
LePage lauded Christie in a joint appearance in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday as an “inspiration” and praised his work with the Republican Governors Association.
{mosads}“I today am endorsing Chris Christie for president of the United States, because I think he’s the real deal. He’s been a governor, he knows what hard decisions are and he’s going to make them,” he said.
“He’s not going to be a politician and talk out of both sides of his mouth. What he’s going to do is tell you things you may not want to hear, but you need to hear. And then he’s going to go to work to fix it.”
He also poked fun at the reputation that the two share in the press.
“I say it the way I see it, sometimes I’m overly blunt, I don’t like to mince words, I like to get things done. And that’s the only difference I see between Chris Christie and I, he’s a little bit shy,” LePage said.
LePage’s endorsement comes hours before the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Government Oversight is set to meet to detail the scope of its investigation into an ethics complaint about LePage.
He’s accused of threatening to slash funding to a charter school unless it fired the Democratic House speaker, who had been recently hired as its president.
Those ethics investigations come as Christie continues to distance himself from the “Bridgegate” scandal, which has resulted in indictments for his former deputy chief of staff and a political appointee, while another has already pleaded guilty.
Kaylie Hanson, a spokeswoman at the DNC, needled Christie over the ethics allegations in a statement responding to the endorsement.
“The first major endorsement Governor Christie receives after announcing he’s running for president is from a governor who is facing impeachment threats for his role in exacting retribution upon a political adversary. Can’t say we’re surprised,” she said.