Christie in; GOP field swells to 14

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie waves to supporters during an event where he announced he would seek the Republican nomination for president, Tuesday, June 30, 2015, at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie waves to supporters during an event where he announced he would seek the Republican nomination for president, Tuesday, June 30, 2015, at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J.

LIVINGSTON, N.J. -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially announced his bid for president Tuesday, entering the crowded Republican field as the 14th declared candidate.

photo

AP

With his family at his side, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announces his bid for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J.

In a speech at his former high school in northern New Jersey, Christie criticized the leadership of the two major political parties, saying "both parties have failed America." As a result, he said, "Americans are filled with anxiety" about the state of the country.

By contrast, he said, "I mean what I say, and I say what I mean. And that's what America needs right now.

"I have spent the last 13 years of my life as U.S. attorney and governor of this state fighting for fairness and justice and opportunity for the people of New Jersey," he said. "That fight has not made me more weary, it made me stronger, and I am now ready to fight for the people of the United States of America."

But Christie's once-bright political star has dimmed, in part because of a controversy involving political payback and an orchestrated traffic tie-up on the heavily trafficked George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey.

Christie, who has denied any involvement in the bridge matter, has been a relative moderate in a party grown increasingly conservative. He is unpopular at home and trails behind other Republican presidential hopefuls in fundraising and opinion polls.

The interim superintendent of the school district in Livingston, N.Y., where Christie entered the presidential race Tuesday, skipped his announcement, saying Christie has been a "terrible governor." Close friends and prominent Republicans in New Jersey keep joining the campaigns of other presidential candidates.

Christie's assertive, blunt-spoken style that once so animated audiences is no longer in favor. To some, Christie comes across as overheated and even bullying.

But rather than shrink from his aggressive nature, campaign strategists hope to turn Christie's persona back to his advantage, portraying him as a brave truth-teller and someone willing to take on tough political issues -- such as overhauling Social Security -- that more timid rivals won't touch.

Christie, a New Jersey native, chose his high school in Livingston to make his formal announcement. He stood on a stage in the school's gym with his wife and four children, and spoke fondly of his upbringing in Livingston, saying his parents had moved there in pursuit of the American dream.

"Christopher, if you work hard enough, you can be anything," he recalled his mother telling him as he grew up. He paid special homage to his grandmothers, saying they made it possible for his mother and his father to achieve their dreams.

"This country needs to work together again," Christie said, speaking largely without notes. "Not only can you govern this state, you can lead it to a better day, and we proved it," he said.

Sydney Ugalde, who lives in nearby Randolph, said she was looking forward to voting for Christie in her first presidential election. Ugalde is 18 and described herself as a Republican "since I was a little kid."

"I like that he says what's on his mind," Ugalde said. "Some people think he's a bully, but I think he says it like it is."

Others in the crowded school gymnasium, where fans waved blue signs with the Christie campaign slogan "Telling it like it is," agreed.

Christie is the latest to join the field of declared Republican candidates -- and he's not likely to be the last. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is set to announce a campaign big July 21, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also has hinted that he will run.

No one at Christie's announcement expressed concern that the number of candidates might hold Christie back.

"That's America," Ricky Friedman of Livingston said of the crowded field. "I think it's wonderful. Everybody has a shot."

Christie first gained wide notice as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor. Appointed as U.S. attorney in 2001 by President George W. Bush, he made his name fighting political corruption in the state, going after lawmakers without regard to party.

He resigned soon after President Barack Obama's 2008 election and a year later beat Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine to become New Jersey's governor.

In his first term, Christie worked with the Legislature's majority Democrats to pass a tighter property tax cap and a pension-overhaul plan that he touts as an example of his skill fashioning bipartisan consensus -- a contrast with Washington's dysfunctional polarization.

When Hurricane Sandy walloped the Jersey Shore shortly before the 2012 election, Christie set aside political differences and linked arms with Obama to address the disaster. Some partisans criticized him for that fraternization. But his overall state approval rating soared, and Christie won re-election in 2013 with strong support among Hispanics and other Democratic-leaning constituencies.

Soon after, though, it was revealed that aides had engineered a series of traffic jams in Fort Lee, N.J., across the Hudson River from New York City, to punish the city's Democratic mayor for refusing to endorse Christie for a second term.

On Monday, a federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed by people who were stuck in traffic when lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge were closed without warning in 2013, but an attorney for the plaintiffs vowed Tuesday to file an amended complaint.

That controversy, which continues to play out in the courts, has dampened Christie's popularity at home and across the country, critics say.

One of Christie's appointees to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for his role in tying up the bridge traffic. He is now cooperating with prosecutors. Two other Christie allies, including his former deputy chief of staff, also have been charged in the conspiracy, but they say they are innocent and have vowed to contest the charges.

The former chairman of the port authority, a longtime friend and political supporter of the governor, remains under federal investigation, suggesting that the case will remain in the news for months to come.

Christie has tried to move on. Asked about the lengthy investigation, he told a town hall audience in New Hampshire in May, "If they could have gotten something on me, I suspect" they already would have.

Christie is counting heavily on a strong showing in New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary and traditionally has looked kindly on less-conservative Republicans. His campaign hopes Christie's take-all-comers approach to town hall meetings -- a political strong suit of the governor and a staple of New Hampshire campaigning -- will help him stand apart from more scripted rivals.

The ask-me-anything strategy worked for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, at a time when his candidacy was all but written off.

Christie plans to spend the next several days campaigning in New Hampshire.

Trump and Paul

As Christie announced his candidacy Tuesday, Donald Trump, a fellow contender for the Republican presidential nomination continued to struggle with the fallout from comments he made about people from Mexico.

In his recent presidential campaign kickoff speech, Trump declared that some Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the U.S. and are rapists.

On Tuesday, a TV company backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim said it was scrapping a project in development with Trump, and Mexico announced that it won't be sending a contestant to the Miss Universe contest, which Trump partly owns.

Ora TV did not give any details about the project it had been developing with Trump. Slim holds a majority interest in Ora TV, which produces shows that include Larry King Now and Off the Grid with Jesse Ventura.

And a day after Televisa, the Mexican TV network that airs the Miss Universe pageant, said there would be no telecast for the next contest, Miss Mexico pageant director Lupita Jones said Mexico would boycott the pageant. She said Trump damaged the pageant and its tradition of convening countries for an event that showcases "friendship, unity and breaking down cultural barriers."

NBC and Spanish-language network Univision previously said they would not air the Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants.

Trump said he's fighting back with a $500 million lawsuit against Univision. The lawsuit claims breach of contract, defamation and First Amendment violations, and says Univision turned on him because it supports Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, fellow Republican candidate Rand Paul courted donors from legal marijuana businesses, making the Kentucky senator the first major-party presidential candidate to publicly seek support from the industry.

In public remarks after the Cannabis Business Summit fundraiser, Paul didn't mention marijuana and didn't take questions from most reporters.

Many of the 40 or so people who attended the fundraiser called his appearance at the meeting a milestone. The campaign did not release fundraising totals.

"This is a historical moment, that our industry is now working together with a presidential candidate," said Tripp Keber, owner of Denver-based Dixie Elixirs, which makes cannabis-infused sodas and sweets.

Another fundraiser attendee, Mitzi Vaughn of Seattle, managing attorney for Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, which caters to marijuana businesses, said Paul criticized drug-war-era policies.

"Most of us, despite what others think, are in this to end the drug war," Vaughn said.

Paul has joined Democrats in the Senate to sponsor a bill to end the federal prohibition on the use of medical marijuana.

He also backs an overhaul of federal drug-sentencing guidelines, along with a measure to allow marijuana businesses to access banking services.

Asked last year whether marijuana should be legalized, Paul said, "I haven't really taken a stand on that, but I'm against the federal government telling [states] they can't."

Information for this article was contributed by Mark Z. Barabak, Tina Susman and Joseph Tanfani of the Los Angeles Times; by Maddie Hanna, Andrew Seidman, Erin McCarthy and Allison Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer; by Kate Zernike and Nick Corasaniti of The New York Times; and by David Porter, Frazier Moore, Mae Anderson, Katherine Corcoran, Doug Ferguson and Kristen Wyatt of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/01/2015

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