Christie stumping for Republican candidates nationally

Gov. Christie's job as chairman of the Republican Governors Association is to get governors from his party elected. But he isn't stopping there.

With the Nov. 4 elections fast approaching, Christie, who has helped raise $72 million for the RGA this year, also has been campaigning and raising money for congressional candidates. Over the last two months, he's attended events for U.S. House and Senate candidates in Illinois, North Carolina, and the early presidential contest states of New Hampshire and Iowa.

On Saturday, Christie returned to Iowa to speak at a fund-raiser for conservative firebrand U.S. Rep. Steve King and to appear with Senate candidate Joni Ernst at a separate fund-raiser for Gov. Terry Branstad.

Until last week, however, you couldn't spot Christie on the campaign trail in New Jersey.

The governor - who has traveled out of state on at least 23 days since Labor Day - started the week stumping with Jeff Bell, who is running a long-shot campaign against U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. On Thursday, he dropped by the Mastoris Diner in Bordentown with Tom MacArthur, who is competing with Democrat Aimee Belgard for the seat of retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan, in Burlington and Ocean Counties.

As opposition researchers for Democratic groups trailed Christie and MacArthur with cameras, the governor said he had heard a lot of anxiety from voters around the country.

"That's why a race like this in the Third Congressional District is so important," Christie said. "We need to have somebody like Tom, who has a background in business and common sense to go in there and try to reach around the aisle and get some things done."

In addition to the two public events, Christie has helped raise money behind closed doors for New Jersey candidates - and at one fund-raiser open to the media with former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, an event that state party officials said netted $600,000.

In all, Christie has participated in 20 events for New Jersey Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Frank LoBiondo, Rodney Frelinghuysen, and Leonard Lance, and Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, said Nicole Sizemore, a state Republican Party spokeswoman. He also has signed on to fund-raising e-mails on behalf of candidates, she said.

The party didn't have information last week on any forthcoming in-state campaign events involving Christie, who said Monday he would spend 11 of the remaining 15 days before the election on the road but would support New Jersey candidates when he was home.

At this point, however, "there's very little he can do," said Patrick Murray, a political analyst at Monmouth University.

"If there was anybody who had been on the edge, in terms of the possibility of them being successful in a tight race, they needed that help sooner than now," Murray said.

Extra support could have boosted candidates in Bergen County, he said, including Rep. Scott Garrett. A Monmouth poll this month showed Garrett up by 5 points over Democratic challenger Roy Cho. On Thursday, Christie said he hadn't been asked to visit on Garrett's behalf. Garrett's campaign did not return messages.

Christie's efforts on behalf of candidates in New Jersey allow him "to look like the good soldier" and counter any criticism that he isn't doing enough at home, Murray said.

On the road, meanwhile, Christie's support for certain federal candidates could pay off if the governor runs for president.

In September, Christie showed up in New Hampshire - host of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary - to support Scott Brown, who is running in a close race to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

The same week, Christie stumped and raised money for Thom Tillis, North Carolina's House speaker, who is battling Democrat Kay Hagan for the U.S. Senate.

This month, Christie appeared in Iowa with Rod Blum, a congressional candidate.

He returned Saturday to raise money for King during a luncheon held as part of the congressman's annual pheasant hunt before crossing the state to attend a birthday bash fund-raiser for Branstad, who is expected to easily win reelection.

Also attending the Branstad event was Ernst, who is vying with Democrat Bruce Braley in a U.S. Senate bid. That close race is drawing big-name surrogates; 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky have supported Ernst.

For politicians with ambitions of their own, "it doesn't hurt to be affiliated in a tight race with a candidate who wins," said Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Christie also may benefit with Iowa conservatives by appearing with King, who represents rural northwest Iowa and "has tremendous credibility among tea party supporters and social and religious conservatives," Goldford said.

He also has a history of inflammatory statements: Last year, King said that for every undocumented immigrant who was a valedictorian, there were 100 with "calves the size of cantaloupes" from smuggling drugs.

Christie called the comments "awful." But the governor - who has raised money for King twice before and appeared with him to take questions from reporters Saturday - has also defended his support for King.

"I make decisions based on, in the main, do we generally agree on our plans for the country's future," the governor said in 2012, according to the Star Ledger newspaper in Newark. "And I do generally agree with Congressman Steve King on those issues, so I'll be campaigning for him."

A recent Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll that asked Republican Iowa caucus-goers their first choice for president found Christie was ninth of 16 potential candidates, favored by 6 percent of respondents. Most of the names polled, though, fell within the margin of error, 4.8 percentage points.

The fact that Christie has been elected in blue New Jersey "makes him suspect" with some conservatives, Goldford said.

Though his continued support for King could help Christie's standing with the congressman's base, it doesn't mean he'll win King's endorsement, Goldford said. He noted that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another possible 2016 contender, went pheasant hunting with King last year.