New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's fading star is tough for the GOP and its quest to attract moderates, Republican strategist Noelle Nikpour told
Newsmax TV on Friday.
"Christie was the biggest tragedy … because he was perceived as the frontrunner. Especially with a group that we have had trouble getting — the moderate," Nikpour told Joe Concha, guest host of Newsmax's "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"You had [billionaire Facebook creator] Mark Zuckerberg throwing a fundraiser for him in California. You had a lot of people that had a Chris Christie fascination, so to speak, with the way he governed."
Christie, who many conservative Republicans feel is too liberal, was nonetheless the frontrunner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
But then came "Bridgegate," in which his top aides allegedly ordered the traffic-clogging closure of key New Jersey roads by the George Washington Bridge for political payback. Christie has said he had no involvement in the scheme.
"[The media] kept it in the front pages over and over again to where you just look at Chris Christie and go oh, 'Bridgegate,'" Nikpour said.
In recent months, Christie, now chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, has been crisscrossing the country helping raise funds for GOP candidates.
"[He's] done a really great job, but it's not really as publicized as we would have thought. It would have been if he would've been one of the clear front runners," Nikpour said.
"More so, we're looking at someone like [Sen.] Rand Paul [of Kentucky]. Whenever he makes a move, it's being publicized. Chris Christie, if you noticed other than 'Bridgegate,' really has taken a backseat in the media.''
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