New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gave a response that avoided taking a direct side but seemed to agree partly with Graham and Fiorina. He said in a Wednesday interview on conservative pundit Laura Ingraham’s radio show that those who work in government have a “different obligation” than those who work in the private sector or for a religious organization. He stressed, however, the need to “balance” religious liberty with the rule of law.

“Every American has the right to free exercise of their religious beliefs,” Christie told Ingraham. “The fact though is, Laura, she has also selected a job where this puts her in a very, very difficult position, and the courts and their decision have put them in a difficult position.

“But we’ve got to first look at making sure we protect the constitutional rights, everybody’s constitutional rights, and we have to balance whatever steps we take off of what we have to do to enforce the laws as well. And so this is a very difficult period for people to be going through, but we’ve got to remember that the Constitution comes first.”