Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been selected to co-chair a new fundraising effort that seeks to aid Republicans in governor races next year, a position that should enable him to keep up his national profile as he considers a presidential bid in 2024, Politico reported on Monday.
Christie will help to lead the Republican Governors Association’s Victory 2022 Board, which was established with the goal of expanding the committee’s donor network.
The former governor will work in his position alongside Michelle Malek Olson, the finance chair for Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Glenn Youngkin and the daughter of Fred Malek, a major Republican financier who died in 2019.
GOP officials say the board - which is scheduled to meet this week in Aspen, - will consist of those who are involved in the Republican Governors Association’s leadership, and they will help recruit others to raise money.
There is a need for raising more money than in a normal cycle, top Republicans say, due to the fact that there are an unusually high 38 governors races on the ballot this year and next.
Christie has already been attempting to stay in the national spotlight, having been a regular guest on ABC’s “This Week.”
Two months ago Christie told the Ruthless podcast that he is considering running for president in the 2024 Republican primary, adding that his decision will not depend on what former President Donald Trump does.
"I'm also not going to be one of these people who's going to say, 'Well, I'll wait to see what President Trump's going to do.' I'm not going to defer to anyone if I decide that's what I want to do and that I think I'm the best option for the party and for the country," Christie said. "I think if you say you're deferring to someone, that's a sign of both weakness and indecision, and we've already got that in the White House."
Christie’s new position, which he also held after his 2013 reelection victory, will help give him better access to the GOP’s most sought-after donors.
He also recently announced that he will have a book published this November called “Republican Rescue: Saving the Party from Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden.”
In addition, he has also kept himself in the public eye by speaking at a Texas donor conference in May that was organized by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, as well as headlining a virtual event for a New Hampshire conservative group and raising funds for New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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