“He showed leadership. He held people accountable,” said Jennifer Horn, chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

“It’s refreshing to see a leader step up and take responsibility,” said Matt Moore, chairman of the South Carolina GOP…

Steve King, a Western Iowa congressman with a reputation as a conservative firebrand, held back.

“I think that [Christie] manned up to it,” said King, who carefully guards his own role in the Iowa caucus process and goes out of his way to court presidential hopefuls. “And now the investigation is coming along, it should be a vehicle that can scrub any questions clean and certify the statements he made.”