“There’s a sense he could melt down at any time,” said one donor who has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Republican candidates over the past several election cycles, and would be well-positioned to help Christie.
Even longtime Christie allies think the governor’s unwillingness to even dial down his approach even a notch or two could make it harder to get the Republican nomination.
“He helped himself enormously in the governors’ races both in terms of his ability to raise money and getting around the country and meeting a lot of people and helping a lot of people,” said David Norcross, a former Senate candidate and chair of the New Jersey Republican State Committee. “But when I saw that ‘sit down and shut up’ comment I kind of winced. That’s not something I would have done. But I’m not Chris.”
It also underscored why so many in the industry are pining for Jeb Bush to get in the race, and at the same time eyeing other non-Christie options if Bush says no. Among them are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“A lot of these people around Wall Street are more pragmatic conservatives,” said a donor who often serves as a liaison between GOP politicians and Wall Street donors. “And the ‘sit down and shut up’ stuff does not seem presidential to them. It seems disqualifying.”
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