Governor Christie today defended the work he has done to prepare for a possible 2016 presidential campaign, even as he insisted he has not yet decided whether to run.
At a news conference in Camden, the Republican governor was asked why his “potential presidential campaign” is “not as visible as it was after you got re-elected” in November.
“I had no presidential campaign after I got re-elected,” Christie said, before quickly adding, “I’ve been to 15 states in the last six months. I don’t know, it would seem to me that I’m traveling more now than I was before I was re-elected — to all kinds of places across the country.”
“If I decide to run, believe me, I’ll let everybody know. That’s not the kind of thing you do quietly,” he said. Any decision “won’t be until early 2015,” he said.
Christie also said he would be “happy” to re-nominate Kevin O’Dowd to be the state’s attorney general. O’Dowd was testifying in Trenton today in front of the committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures.
He was nominated to be attorney general last year, shortly before the scandal became national news, but the state Senate did not take up his nomination, and it expired at the end of the Legislature’s term in January.
The governor said he will wait for O’Dowd to complete his lane closure testimony and then will have “a conversation” about becoming the state’s top law enforcement officer
“If Kevin still wants to serve as attorney general, that would be something I’d be happy to have him do,” Christie said
Christie made five stops in Camden today to highlight his administration’s efforts to improve education in the impoverished city. At his news conference, in the gymnasium of Camden High School, he announced a “formal partnership” between the state and the Center for Family Services Camden Promise Program. It’s another effort to help children and other Camden residents get the social services they need, he said.
“There’s a long way to go. We all know that,” Christie said. “But we made some significant inroads in just this first year.”
