Christie Could Never Run Against Romney

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday October 11, 2011

When I wrote that Chris Christie was not going to run for President, I gave four reasons why it was too late for him to enter the race. As we learn about Chris Christie's plan to endorse Mitt Romney today, we can add a 5th: apparently he had been in communication with Romney for a long time.

Katrina Trinko reports:

UPDATE: A Romney aide says Christie and Romney have been in touch for several months.

“They’ve been talking off and on since the spring,” the aide says. “On Saturday, Mitt and Ann had a chance to spend personal time with Gov. Christie and his wife at their home in New Jersey, and Gov. Christie told Mitt at that meeting he was going to endorse him.”

If Christie had always been planning to endorse Romney he must have been aware of the size and scope of his campaign. That awareness would have provided a good fifth reason to add to the list: running against Mitt Romney, who has a large organization and massive funding base, is just not worth it for serious candidates who have a lot to lose.

Herman Cain, who is currently benefiting from Rick Perry's collapse, had little to lose from entering into the GOP race. He had no name recognition before the race and if he (likely) does not win the nomination, will be able to leave with the opportunity to get a Fox News contract. A similar happy ending would not have been waiting for Chris Christie.