Chris Christie's Wife, Mary Pat, Leaves Highly Lucrative Wall Street Job
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's wife has left her lucrative job at a Wall Street firm as her husband prepares for a potential run for the White House.
A spokesman for Christie's office confirmed Friday that Mary Pat Christie recently resigned as managing director at Angelo, Gordon and Co. and is putting her career on hiatus.
Mary Pat has been the family's main breadwinner and reported earning more than $500,000 in the couple's 2013 tax filings.
Spokesman Kevin Roberts said the resignation was so the mother of four could spend more time with her family, which includes two children in college, but there are obvious political considerations in cutting Wall Street ties on the cusp of a campaign.
As CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Friday, if Chris Christie does throw his hat in the presidential ring he doesn't want to be considered a 1-percenter.
The governor was in Manchester, New Hampshire last week, testing the waters for a possible run at the White House. When he got into a bit of hot water he told a local newspaper that he and his wife are "not wealthy," even though the family reported income on their 2014 income tax returns of around $700,000, which puts them squarely in the top 1-percent.
Why could that be a that a big deal? Because a potential Christie presidential campaign would be pitched to middle America -- not rich people. One of his proposals is to phase out Social Security benefits for those who earn more than $80,000 a year.
What Mary Pat Christie's resignation means is that the family will have to live on the governor's $175,000 salary, which still puts them in a pretty high tier.
The median income in New Jersey between 2009 and 2013 was about $72,000, Kramer reported.
According to a recent Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, 69 percent said Christie would not make good a president -- a 10-point increase in negativity in just the past few months.
Of those polled, 58 percent said "presidential" doesn't describe the governor "at all," while 28 percent said the word describes him "somewhat well" and 10 percent said it described him "very well."
Still, 57 percent believe Christie will decide to run for president.
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