New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be coming to Alabama next month to campaign for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who is facing Democratic challenger Parker Griffith in November and heavily favored to win a second term.
Christie, who is traveling the country regularly in his capacity as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), plans to visit “more than half a dozen states” in August, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Once viewed as the favorite of the Republican establishment for the 2016 presidential race, Christie has struggled in recent months to push past “Bridgegate,” a scandal involving members of his staff that has never been directly tied to the governor himself, but has severely tarnished his brand.
But Christie continues to weigh a run for the White House in 2016, and his no-nonsense, in-your-face style has led some to believe that he is still the potential candidate who stands the best chance of defeating likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
If he were to run, he would face an uphill battle in Alabama, where candidates like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, who appeal to the state’s large base of evangelicals, have faired well in recent presidential elections.
TheRun2016, a U.S. News & World Report blog helmed by Yellowhammer friend and former contributor David Catanese, still ranks Christie second behind Sen. Rand Paul in its list of the most likely GOP nominees. Paul is also first in an ongoing (and highly unscientific) poll of Yellowhammer readers.
Christie is currently scheduled to visit Birmingham, Alabama on August 13th, but his public schedule has not yet been released.
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