New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino's camp is angry over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's snub of their candidate, with campaign officials saying the popular governor has gone back on his word to help in the race against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Astorino spokesman Bill O'Reilly told
The Asbury Park Press that the Republican Governor's Association, which Christie heads, has not given any support to his candidate.
Meanwhile, Christie has pushed millions of dollars in support to other states' races, despite an RGA statement that the organization "is proud to support" Astorino, his campaign claims.
The RGA sent a press release out last month that quoted Christie as saying Astorino "is the best candidate to move New York forward." However, the statement carried the headline "RGA Congratulates Rob Astorino on New York Gubernatorial Primary Win," but Astorino was not in a primary.
O'Reilly said Astorino has given up any hope that Christie will resist Cuomo's re-election, even though the New York governor's poll numbers are dropping. However, according to
RealClearPolitics, Cuomo is carrying a commanding overall lead of almost 24 percentage points.
Christie said earlier this summer that he was reluctant to spend RGA money on Astorino because "we don't invest in lost causes," reports The Press.
However, Christie has put his backing behind another neighboring state's governor,
Pennsylvania leader Tom Corbett, who is behind Democratic challenger Tom Wolf by some 15 percentage points, RealClearPolitics reports.
The difference is that Corbett has "never lost a race ... so no, I'm not ready to give up on Tom Corbett, by a long shot," Christie said in a press conference last week.
Astorino's claims that Christie's loyalties lie with Cuomo because of the George Washington Bridge scandal,
The Star Ledger in Newark reported earlier this year.
"If he's unable to do his job as RGA chair to help Republican candidates, including the one in New York, if there's a side deal or a quid pro quo or a handshake between the two of them, then obviously he can't do his job," Astorino said at the time.
On Monday, Astorino said that even without Christie, more
Republicans are rallying behind him as the Nov. 4 election nears.
"Chris Christie aside, we've had the support of [Wisconsin] Gov. Scott Walker, [Louisiana] Gov. Bobby Jindal, [former Florida] Gov. Jeb Bush and [former Massachusetts] Gov. Mitt Romney," Astorino said on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
Astorino said Romney has given him a key boost by putting out a fundraising letter that "blasted Andrew Cuomo for the right reasons, because Cuomo is under federal investigation for corruption. His job approval is down to 42 percent."
And despite Cuomo's large lead, Astorino believes he can still win, as a "majority of New Yorkers say we're going in the wrong direction. We're beating him with independents and with men. We can close this gap pretty quickly in the last three weeks if we get some of the help that we need."