Some concern trolling from the Politico team attempts to throw cold water on the Christie 2016 fire, this time in the form of fundraising issues. The question at hand is whether or not the big guy will quit his day job as Governor of New Jersey after he officially enters the race for the White House.

Chris Christie has made clear to donors and potential supporters that he will not leave his job as New Jersey governor if he runs for president in 2016.

“The governor is telling people that he is not going to resign,” Christie’s top political strategist Mike DuHaime told POLITICO, without elaborating.

The statement is the strongest response from anyone in Christie’s orbit to the question of whether, if he runs for president, he will do so while continuing to serve as governor. The issue has for months dominated private discussions among New York-area donors who comprise Christie’s base of support.

The main concern being expressed is over the SEC “pay-to-play” rules which could come into effect in the scenario described above. Much of Christie’s initial support – particularly the big donor money – is expected to come from Wall Street financial firms. But any of these groups who want to do business with the State of New Jersey during the same period are forbidden from making donations to state officials. Hence, as long as Christie is both a state official and a national candidate, he can’t take any money from them. Some seem to feel this rules out his remaining in office during the campaign.

One major Wall Street donor put it this way: “For Christie to expand his base beyond the Northeast, he has to have enormous …success recruiting key Wall Street fundraisers and you can’t do that and be governor of New Jersey.”

“I still think he has to resign,” said another prominent New York donor ahead of DuHaime’s comment.

As if a few pesky guidelines from the Securities and Exchange Commission are going to slow down this march to inevitability. If anyone dares to bring it up at a press conference they’ll probably just be told to sit down and shut up. Besides, there are plenty of donors to be tapped all over the country. I’m sure Christie can get by without a few pesky Wall Street dollars. These brokers have a far too high opinion of themselves.

The small dollar donations alone from individual conservative contributors around the nation – like those of you here at Hot Air, for example – will likely more than make up for what Wall Street would give him anyway.