Growing Democrat Support for Christie Tied to Sandy, Recovery

Gov. Chris Christie is keeping score.

In front of a crowd of supporters at a campaign stop in Point Pleasant Borough late Monday morning, the Republican governor counted 30, 30 Democratic leaders that he said have issued their endorsement for his reelection in the upcoming gubernatorial race against Democratic challenger and current State senator Barbara Buono.

Christie’s most recent Democrat catch is Mayor William Schroeder, whose coastal community was one of several Jersey Shore towns significantly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Schroeder’s endorsement, he told Patch following a rally in which Christie touted bipartisanship, was a way of thanking the governor and his staff for their assistance in recovery following the late-October superstorm.

Schroeder also noted the importance of consistency, especially in the state’s ongoing recovery efforts, as a reason he threw his support behind Christie.

"The governor's staff approached me and asked me to endorse him and I said I had no qualms about it," Schroeder told Point Pleasant Patch.

Schroeder is the most recent Democrat to cross party lines and endorse Christie’s reelection bid, joining other Democrat mayors like Sea Bright’s Dina Long and Long Branch’s Adam Schneider. Democratic officials, among them mayors and senators, from several counties have issued their support for Christie over the past few weeks, and it’s likely that Christie’s Democrat scorecard will only grow as the campaign season continues.

While Christie gained public popularity throughout the first three years of his term as New Jersey’s governor thanks to a combination of brash talk and a professed willingness to tackle the state’s financial woes – as well as place blame on previous administrations when able – much of his recent popularity, especially with Democrats, is owed to his response following Sandy.

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Christie welcomed President Barack Obama and worked with his administration in developing an aid package to aid in recovery. Christie also took on Congress when he criticized House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican party’s “toxic politics” when it came to delaying a vote on what he said was crucial and necessary aid.      

“You have me a big, big job and it’s about getting that job done and what’s symbolic about today, and what’s happened 30 other times in this campaign so far with Democrats coming forward and supporting me for reelection, is they’re putting people ahead of party,” Christie said at Community Park Monday. “It’s never easy to cross party lines but it is our responsibility when we believe it’s the right thing to do to do that because then we have a better chance of getting the job done that you want us to get done.”

The endorsement of yet another Democrat official is another hindrance in Buono’s election plan. Christie’s campaign efforts so far have capitalized on his significant post-Sandy popularity, but he’s failed to address much of anything else recently, his opponents say.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-37, said in a recent statement that Christie’s agenda doesn’t show a commitment to bipartisanship and New Jersey residents but rather causes harm to the middle class, working people, and the states poor and disenfranchised, Hoboken Patch reported.

On Monday, Buono’s Communications Director David Turner echoed Weinberg’s comments in his response to Schroeder’s endorsement of Christie. The governor has responded well to Sandy-related issues, but has neglected those he promised to serve when first elected.

New Jersey is still struggling with unemployment, Turner said, and subsidies granted to large corporations have not yielded jobs as promised.

“He did his job, and we all respect that,” Turner said of Christie’s response to Sandy recovery. “But the fact is, there’s another New Jersey out there. The governor has really forgotten the other side. He’s hurt the state’s middle class residents.”