Jeb Bush's Presidential Planning May Speed Up Timetable For Christie Decision
By David Madden
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBS) --- The GOP got its first semi-official Presidential contender for 2016 yesterday, with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush authorizing an exploratory committee on his behalf. That could potentially get others thinking about the race to do likewise, most notably around here, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Ross Baker is a political science professor at Rutgers. He suggests Christie's currently private consideration of a run is affecting the Governor's policy decisions in New Jersey, like whether to support an increase in the state gas tax.
"He's looking desperately for a way to come up with a non-tax tax to deal with the problem in New Jersey while, at the same time, not leaving himself open to a charge by his competitors that he's a tax-and-spend Republican," Baker says.
Baker thinks Jeb Bush's move will speed up the timetable of a Christie announcement.
"Christie, I think, feels there's a good deal of room between him and Jeb Bush and he can make a case that his candidacy would be distinctive and not duplicative of Bush's," he says.
Christie's current public stance has him making a decision early next year.