Christie Makes Voters Feel Special
Written and Reported by Spencer Solomon
Co-reported by Lizzie Clarke
Seven year Chris Christie supporter Leslie Batchelder said today, “I love Christie’s personal approach. He comes across as the everyday American guy next door.” Governor Christie is possibly the most experienced candidate in the Republican race. With eight years of governorship under his belt, it would be easy for him to form into the typical “D.C.” produced politician that many Americans are tired of voting for. However, despite the odds, many Christie supporters express that his edgy and sometimes atypical persona are what put him ahead of the other candidates and make him exceptional. Longtime supporter, Leslie Batchelder and Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, Robert S. Graham shed more light on the appeal of the New Jersey Governor.
When asked what about Christie made him more appealing than governors Kasich and Bush (who have similar leadership in the government as Christie), Batchelder quickly replied with this statement:
“He comes across as the everyday American guy next door, and I think, in general, people are really sick of the Washington D.C. establishment and politicians as a whole. So even though he is a politician, he really sounds like the guy next door which is appealing.”
Batchelder then continued to explain the beauty of who Christie is, saying that the fact that there is a candidate who she can trust knows what they’re doing and is not a generic politician makes him the ice cream sundae with the cherry on top. When asked who has her vote if Governor Christie drops out of the race, Batchelder gave this answer:
“Trump. Again because Christie’s appeal is that he has the experience and yet still comes across as the non-politician who could evoke change. However, then the only other option in our party would be Trump because he’s the non-politician. He’s a little off the cuff, he’s a little out there but I do think he is the second to Christie and could evoke the same feeling Christie does.”
Clearly the combination of Christie’s phenomenal approachability and experience as a leader in the government has Batchelder deeply invested in his campaign. Robert S. Graham, the Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, was also able share his knowledge on why so many voters consider Christie to be one of the best candidates in this year’s race.
In his one-on-one interview, Graham started with this blanket statement on Christie:
“I think one of the things, and first I’ll say that all of our candidates are high octane and Governor Christie always brings up a good point, the fact that he’s a governor. Governors have a different type of role when it comes to their leadership in government and it more closely resembles the presidency. So being a governor and executive means they are operators, they operate the business of the state and this has been a consistent message from Chris Christie which I think has resonated with a lot of people.”
The conversation then turned to why Christie resonates with people, specifically those in the working class. Christie communicates, converses and connects to lower income, working class people with ease and it helps his campaign tremendously. Graham added to the subject, saying:
“We hear his story, and in coming from New Jersey where New Jersey, if you look at the majority of the state its blue collar its manufacturing. There’s a lot of government work and its historically very heavily unionized and in many ways that’s very relatable to the new england states. So one of the things [Governor Christie] did, he had a stiff opposition as governor the first time and won, and then, if you watch his pattern, you’ll see where a lot of the opposition he had within the union culture which is more blue collar has shifted to be supportive so he won by a landslide in his second election. That being said, I think he resonates well with the people is because he’s honest with them, he looks into their eyes. In my state of Arizona which he came and visited quite often because he was the leader of the Republican Governors Association, all of our interns when they met him, and they met everybody, they would say, ‘man he was so warm and friendly and he just pulled people in.”
Graham’s insight on how his interns reacted to meeting Christie concur with everyone that spoke of Christie that has been interviewed by this publication. From Janet Vincze to Wayne MacDonald, Christie’s New Hampshire Chairman, along with new supporter Pam McElroy and longtime supporter Leslie Batchelder, each of them has individually been able to articulate exactly why they were drawn to support Christie. A key theme in all of their explanations was that he is not only well-experienced in government leadership positions but his entire personality from his sense of humor to his ability to make every single person he meets feel special.
So, why is the well-spoken, experienced and intelligent straight shooter not leading in the polls? There is no clear answer. Could it be that those who are looking to elect a non-generic candidate are all flocking to Donald Trump? Possibly. Or maybe this time tomorrow, Governor Christie and his supporters will be celebrating an underdog victory. After another day of the hectic New Hampshire Primary the outcome is still not clear and chances are likely that it won’t be until the final numbers come in tomorrow.
