Chris Christie is making a shameless appeal to Democrats who are interested in his ideas: Just vote Republican with your eyes closed.
When a Democratic voter showed up at his town hall Friday in Iowa, she told him she was interested in his ideas but still hesitant because she’s a lifelong Democrat.
The Republican governor, who’s expected to launch his presidential campaign in the coming weeks, joked about a plea he often gave Democrats in his home state of New Jersey.
“I only need you to be a Republican for two seconds. Two seconds,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience. “Go into the voting booth. Put your finger on the button. Once you got your finger on the button, you can even close your eyes if you want, so that you got deniability. Alright? Close your eyes. Hit the button. Hit the other button. Walk out. It’ll be our secret. You don’t need to tell anybody.”
While the two-term governor has long touted his success in a reliably blue state, his friendly exchange with the voter on Friday exemplified how Christie is angling to become the candidate most accessible to Democrats. It’s a tactic he employs in his frequent trips to the more independent-minded early voting state of New Hampshire, but he’s also willing to take that approach in more conservative states like Iowa and South Carolina.
The Republican nominating process often sees candidates tack to the right or compete for conservative bona fides. Mitt Romney, for example, declared he was “severely conservative” in 2012 to help tamp down concerns from activists on the right.
Voters coming to hear Christie are far less likely to hear such messaging. While responding to a question on where he stands ideologically on foreign policy, Christie explained his views but argued that he’s not into “the labeling stuff.”
“Labeling stuff is based up on the eyes of the beholder right? I mean, I’m from New Jersey. When I’m in New Jersey, people think … I am way conservative. I might go to Oklahoma; people might not think the same thing. If I go to Hawaii, they’ll think completely differently,” he said.
He went on to say that he cares more about communicating the “substance” than fitting a certain narrative. “If you do that, that’s effective leadership, and you can call it whatever you want.”
Christie’s not the only one looking beyond the Republican primary. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has also indicated that he’s focused more on November 2016, saying the nominee has to be willing to lose the primary to win the general. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been pairing up with Democrats on legislation involving criminal justice reform that has broad appeal, and he’s garnered impressive poll numbers with independent voters.
Interestingly, Mary Morrill, the Democrat who showed up to hear Christie on Friday, said she was attracted to Christie’s efforts to take on the teacher’s union in New Jersey — a sector traditionally bolstered by Democrats.
A mother with children in the fifth and eight grades, Morrill lamented frustrating experiences with teachers and administrators, adding that she doesn’t feel like Democrats line up with her own views on addressing public education.
Morrill said it’s the first time she’s “ever been in the presence of a Republican candidate” and still feels torn about the idea of voting for a Republican for president.
“I would consider it, yes,” she said with heavy reluctance when asked after the town hall if she would vote for Christie in the general election.
But she’d only consider Christie, she insisted, adding that she also wouldn’t go as far as switching parties to vote for him in the caucuses.
Fresh off the heels of a high stakes legal win over public sector unions, Christie showed off his battle wounds and reminded the audience of how he was catapulted into the national spotlight by battling public unions.
“I got the scars on my back by getting tenure reform. But we got it. I got the scars on my back fighting exuberant pensions and health benefits for public sector employees that are bankrupting my state and bankrupting our country. But I’m fighting it. Because none of that — the pensions, the benefits, the tenure makes the education better. None of it makes the education better.”
Christie’s stand on pension reform was handed a victory this week when the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled his administration did not violate the state’s constitution by cutting benefits for state workers. The ruling frees the governor to balance the state’s budget by the June 30 deadline without making unpopular cuts or tax increases.
As Christie inches closer to a presidential run, he indicated his battle with public sector unions will continue on the national level while also drawing the contrast with the likely Democratic nominee.
“Here is one thing I will guarantee you: The single biggest contributor to Hillary Clinton in 2016 will be the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers,” he said. “Count on it.”