Chris Christie coming back to campaign again for Rob McKenna

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke at
a recent rally for Rob McKenna in Bellevue.

In one of his more memorable lines during a rally in Bellevue last month, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged attendees to get Rob McKenna elected governor… or else.

“I’ve been really nice and friendly tonight, haven’t I?” Christie said. “I haven’t said anything bad about anybody. Haven’t gotten angry. I haven’t, you know, gone Jersey on anybody tonight. And I want to tell you something, if I don’t see this thing going well, and I mean really well, I’m going to hold the people in this room responsible first. Don’t make me come back here.”

Well, he’s coming back here — although the McKenna campaign says it’s not because things aren’t going well.

Christie will be holding events for McKenna in Kennewick and Lynnwood on Thursday, Oct. 4, said Charles McCray, a campaign spokesman. The specifics haven’t yet been worked out, but his visit will include fundraising and rallying volunteers, McCray said.

According to a website created for the event, McKenna supporters who volunteer for 10 hours in the next two weeks will get to meet Christie.

“The governor is incredibly enthusiastic about doing all he can to make sure Rob will be a colleague of his in January,” McCray said.

McKenna, a Republican and the state’s attorney general, is in a tight race with former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, a Democrat.

Christie, a popular governor who was discussed as a potential vice-presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, keynoted the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., late last month — to mixed reviews.

The Washington state governor’s race hasn’t changed much since his last visit to Washington.

That appearance at a Republican “unity rally” was held Aug. 9, two days after McKenna received 43 percent in the primary, good enough for second place to Inslee’s 47 percent.

The most recent poll in the race, released last week by Elway Research, Inc., found Inslee leading McKenna 44 percent to 41 percent.

Latest news:

Comments | More in Governor, homepage, Statewide | Topics: Chris Christie, fundraising, Jay Inslee

Connect with us

Subscribe |

Email a news tip

About this blog

Politics Northwest is the go-to blog for politics in our region. The blog explores national, state and local political news and issues. Reporters from Washington, D.C., to Seattle City Hall to the state capital in Olympia contribute. Editors are Richard Wagoner and Beth Kaiman.

How would you balance the state budget and fund education?

Cut spending? Increase taxes? Some of each? Here’s your chance to take a swing at balancing the state budget. We’ve created an interactive budget game that lets you pick from dozens of potential budget cuts and tax increases to balance the budget and find more money for education. Try it now.