Christie Endorsement Fist Bump or “Missed” Bump

by
Steve MacDonald

Chris Christie

The Union Leader has endorsed Gov. Chris Christie for the Republican nomination as have Jeff Chidester and Donna Sytek, suggesting, if nothing else, and interesting range of “appeal.”

While we are fans of what has come to be known as Chris Christie Porn–the videos of town-hall style meetings where Gov. Christie straight talks his way through and over the left’s union machine–no one on the Grok that I know of is endorsing him. Nothing personal, there are just more conservative, pro-liberty candidates to choose from and we are who we claim to be, Conservatarians.

Despite that, I feel obligated to give the endorsements a fair shake; has the polling needle moved? Was this a fist bump or a “missed” bump?

The previous two NH Polls (c/o RCP) showed Christie at 4% and 5% and in 7th place on both. The Union Leader endorsement came after both, over the long holiday weekend, and Sytek endorsed earlier this week.  So did it make a difference?

Polling out today (this from PPP, so not the same as the previous 2) shows Christie in 4th place in New Hampshire at 10%. It goes Trump 27%, Cruz 13%, Rubio 11%, Christie 10%, then Kasich 9%, Fiorina 6%, Bush 5%, and Paul 4%.

Momentum? Could be. A 5 to 6 point shift is a nice jump in under two weeks and that is the point of a staged roll-out of endorsements. Keep the candidates name in the news. But is it just a name in the news or are people starting to gravitate toward him over other similar candidates?

I’m not quite ready to say he is gaining real ground just yet. I’d like to see the next Globe/Suffolk and CBS/YouGov polls to compare to the ones before the endorsement train left the station. And some more polling all around will help define the impact.

Christie’s national numbers are still in the toilet but an impressive showing in New Hampshire wouldn’t hurt him because he’s still at 2% in Iowa, a number that hurts him here if he stays down there on Caucus day.

 

FYI – According to the Boston Globe Gov. Christie also has endorsements from Punch and Judy Havenstein, former NHGOP Chair Wayne MacDonald, Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard, Matt Mowers, and Pease Trade Port tycoons Dan and Renee Plummer.

 

Note: I have endorsed Ted Cruz along with the 603 Alliance.  This here is just reporting not endorsing.

Author

  • Steve MacDonald

    Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

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