Christie's Lt Gov has turned on him
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno staked her independence from Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday morning, in a highly public break with the governor who had plucked her from relative obscurity to serve as his running mate.
Christie and Guadagno racked up impressive margins sharing the ticket in 2009, and again in 2013, but have seldom appeared in public together in recent years, as Christie's poll numbers cratered and tensions between the two simmered behind the scenes.
In a radio interview on Thursday morning, Guadagno went public with their breach, contradicting the administration’s position on a major ballot measure by suggesting voters can blow up a hard-won $16 billion infrastructure plan by opposing the amendment.
Less than 15 minutes after Guadagno’s remarks on New Jersey 101.5 FM, the governor’s office emailed reporters saying that “it must be a misunderstanding” — the first public rebuke of a woman who has, at least nominally, served as the governor's top lieutenant for nearly seven years.
But, as Guadagno quickly made clear, there was no misunderstanding. At a news conference in Trenton on Thursday afternoon, she said she “was concerned and did my own research and took my own position.”
It was the first clear sign that Guadagno, widely considered a top contender for the Republican nomination for governor, will distance herself from Christie — a deeply unpopular executive who has kept her at arm’s length since they took office in 2010.
While she has not officially declared her candidacy, Guagadno appears to be laying the groundwork for a primary campaign against Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and any other Republicans who decide to join the race.
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