Here’s how I see it: Christie was a person Republicans were told they should like by the party apparatus. But fairly or not (and to be clear, it’s not), Republicans tend to hail from parts of the country not especially trustful of northeastern city slickers. Ted Cruz knew what he was doing with “NYC values” even if it backfired.

I think the basis of this (see also: Gulliani, Rudy; Romney, Mitt; Walker, Scott) is seeing a Republican hold office in a blue state gets taken as a sign they have unique crossover appeal and can win over Democrats. Hey, this might even be true. The problem is they can’t win over Republicans who feel they’re tainted.