After years of campaigning in Iowa for others, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is venturing into new territory as a potential White House candidate appealing to social conservatives who hold sway in the early-voting state.
“He has the opportunity to open some eyes there,” says GOP state Rep. Chip Baltimore.
Few would pick him to emerge as the 2016 favorite in the Iowa caucuses among the state’s robust Christian right.
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“Republicans are not going to win a national election unless voters have an emotional attachment to our candidate,” said Boeyink, who would be expected to play a key role in Iowa for Christie. “Chris Christie has that ability.”
Gwen Ecklund, the Republican Party chairwoman in a conservative, rural western Iowa county, attended one of those meetings with Christie. Her reaction sums up where Christie stands in Iowa a year before the caucus.
“I was pleasantly impressed with him, more than I thought I would be,” Ecklund said. “Is he the best person? I don’t know yet.”
