ACROSS THE AISLE — Chris Christie wants voters to know he’s more than just a guided missile. He’s also got a standout resume with a credential no one else in the field can match: an ability to work productively with the enemy. In both of his presidential campaign launches — this year and in 2016 — Christie has emphasized his bipartisan bona fides as an asset compared to Donald Trump and a field of candidates crowded with governors accustomed to dealing with compliant GOP legislatures. There’s just one problem: there’s little evidence GOP primary voters care that the former New Jersey governor can work across the aisle with Democrats. “I governed in a blue state — one of the bluest states in this country — as a two-term Republican governor,” he said in a CNN town hall last month. “I got reelected in that blue state with 61 percent of the vote. What’s that tell you? I made things happen. I know how to make things happen.” It’s a record of compromise that, in the pre-Trump era, might have garnered Christie support as a problem-solving conservative. In his eight years as the Republican governor of New Jersey, Christie often worked closely with the Democratic-led Legislature to pass some of the most consequential policies of recent memory. He capped property tax increases; eliminated the estate tax; scaled back public employee health and pension benefits; realigned the higher education system; overhauled the troubled police department in one of the most dangerous cities in America; and renewed New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund to support long-term infrastructure projects. And long before his popularity plummeted to a historic low in his home state, Christie was so popular that he earned prominent Democratic endorsements — supporters who were dubbed “Christiecrats.” Christie’s entry into the 2024 race and his focus on Trump has so far generated media attention more akin to a face-versus-heel WWE wrestling showdown than a presidential primary. But what’s overlooked in Christie’s attempt to block the return of the 45th president to the White House is a distinctive record that neither Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or any of the other governors in the race can claim. DeSantis and the other Republican governors — Doug Burgum of North Dakota; Nikki Haley of South Carolina; Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas; and Mike Pence of Indiana — all led with Republican legislatures. As president, Trump had Republican majorities in the House and Senate his first two years, but Democrats flipped the House in his midterm. DeSantis’ work with a Republican-controlled legislature has enabled him to flex in the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina: He can point to a six-week abortion ban, restrictions on sexual content in school books and targeting Disney World’s self-governance, as some examples. Christie had no such advantage while leading New Jersey. At best, he can highlight how he used his veto pen liberally to defund Planned Parenthood, reject new gun restrictions and prohibit people from changing their gender on their birth certificate — culture war issues that resonate with the GOP base today. But Christie can’t sidestep the fact his biggest policy achievements were done working with Democrats. Every budget had to be negotiated with the opposing party, and Christie famously resisted tax increases. “Based upon the cast of characters that are in the Republican primary, he’s the only one that has that ability to go out on the stage and say, ‘I did eight budgets with Democrats,’” said state Sen. Paul Sarlo, the Democratic chair of the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee. “It was always direct conversations,” he added. “Sometimes they were pleasant, sometimes we yelled at each other. But we would get right back at it a day later and negotiate.” Christie’s voluble personality and his policy achievements worked in his favor early in his tenure, when he was courted to run for president as a presumed frontrunner against then-President Barack Obama in 2012. He declined and instead pursued reelection in New Jersey, reaching popularity upwards of 70 percent after Superstorm Sandy and winning 61 percent of the vote — the second-highest percentage in state history. “He appealed to the independents. He appealed to the soft Democrats and he appealed to Republicans,” said New Jersey GOP state Sen. Holly Schepisi. Public polling doesn’t reflect even a fraction of that support now. According to the FiveThirtyEight polling average, Christie is languishing at the bottom of the field with just three percent. The former governor did see a bump in New Hampshire after he announced his candidacy, placing third behind Trump and DeSantis. However, Christie topped the list in a mid-June New Hampshire Journal/coefficient poll of candidates that residents “would never vote for under any circumstances.” Christie is banking his primary hopes on New Hampshire, just as in 2016 when he placed sixth behind Trump. One of Christie’s closest allies in the New Jersey legislature, Republican state Sen. Jon Bramnick, said he fears that voters will once again prioritize politics over policy. “People who don’t believe in compromise at all I guess have never had a family, have never run a business. It’s only in politics where you’re not supposed to compromise ever,” Bramnick said. “Not compromising ever is a great thing for a primary. It’s not a great way to govern.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at dracioppi@politico.com or on Twitter at @dracioppi.
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