In the wake of Jeb Bush's announcement that he will explore a presidential bid, all eyes turn to Chris Christie’s decision about his own political future,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
Christie must move quickly to round up his donors as the race quickly takes shape and if he seeks to position himself as a candidate, the Journal said. In meetings with those he might seek funding from, Christie reportedly has said Bush's entree into the race will not impact his decision to run.
“The pace is going to pick up,” Kevin Madden, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney during his presidential bids in 2008 and 2012, told the Journal. “The top donors and the top staff want to be the first on the team. You’re going to see some urgency.”
Gov. Christie, speaking to a school group in Brookside, New Jersey on Wednesday, said he would talk to his family about his decision over the holidays and make an announcement after Jan. 1,
The Associated Press reported.
The New York Times noted that Bush's positions on key issues may put him at odds with his conservative base, but they are unlikely to be so extreme that they could scotch his chances for support.
"Tone and message, not the specifics of his policy agenda, will probably determine whether he can strike the balance necessary to appeal to the party’s donors without losing too much ground among staunch conservatives," the Times wrote Wednesday in its "The Upshot" column.
The Times added: "This is not to say that Mr. Bush, a former Florida governor, is close to being in touch with the conservative base on immigration reform and education policy. Both issues are probably potent enough to hurt his chances. But he is no iconoclast, not even by the standards of recent Republican nominees, who have overcome greater heresies."