Chris Christie Picks Up Endorsements, Promises to Play Hard

A group of Iowans four years ago flew on a private jet to New Jersey. The prominent group attempted to persuade Chris Christie he should run for president. Christie told them he did not feel the timing was right.

Four years have passed and despite a rocky year on the campaign trail and daunting odds in Iowa, the same group of people are rallying behind the New Jersey Governor again. Tuesday the group will give their endorsement to him at a Des Moines press conference.

Prior to the event, Christie said that he is planning to start spending more time on the ground prior to the caucuses and is predicting he would build a very competitive organization.

He added that the support of these endorsements is affirmation of his candidacy for all the people who had been doubters.

Now, he said with the field twice as big as four years ago, they have taken a look around and decided to stay with him.

He called the people endorsing him the difference makers in the state of Iowa.

The group that is endorsing Christie is led by Bruce Rastetter a millionaire in agribusiness, who chartered the plane during 2011.

He is president of the state public university system’s Board of Regents as well as the top donor and ally to Terry Branstad the Governor of Iowa.

The endorsements are very meaningful to Christie partly due to the closeness of the men to Governor Branstad, who is much admired in what could be called the establishment wing for the state’s Republican Party.

Branstad remains neutral, but Christie now has managers of the previous campaigns of the governor of Iowa, a former chief of state and the top two fundraisers that are working on his campaign.

A native of New Jersey, Phil Valenziano was the political director for Branstad in 2014, and is the state director of Iowa for Christie.

Christie said a winning organization was being put together in Iowa and he said they would be very competitive.