By Managing Editor Mike Schneider
NJ Today
U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan hopes an endorsement from Gov. Chris Christie will help him turn things around. It’s been talked about ever since Lonegan won the Republican primary last week. And it finally happened today when the two of them got together in Flemington.
“This will not be the only time that Steve Lonegan and I are together. Between now and Oct. 16, we’re gonna help him raise money. Sen. Chiesa’s gonna help him. Lieutenant Gov. Guadagno’s gonna help him. And the apparatus of the Republican Party’s gonna be behind Steve Lonegan between now and Oct. 16 to bring us the victory,” Christie said.
“I want to thank you for your leadership in putting New Jersey back on track toward economic prosperity and your leadership in the nation in putting the Republican back on track and our country back on track. We’re indebted to you for that,” Lonegan said.
Some people wondered whether we’d ever see this happen, given the governor’s own reelection campaign and what happened four years ago when Christie and Lonegan aimed barbs at each other as they competed for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
“I’m proud of the record I have as a Morris County freeholder. I think we were able to do some good things in the three years that I was there,” Christie said in May 2009.
At the time, Lonegan responded, “I’m surprised with that record you weren’t reelected after one term.”
That history is not lost on the governor himself who had an encounter with our David Cruz a few hours before he endorsed Lonegan.
When Cruz asked him how much energy he had for the Lonegan candidacy, Christie said, “I think, David, it’s a little premature to assess my energy at 12 o’clock for a 4:30 event.”
During the Lonegan endorsement, Christie made mention of it again. “One reporter that showed up at my earlier event with Secretary Donovan up in Moonachie said, ‘What kind of energy are you gonna have for your endorsement of Mayor Lonegan?’ I said, ‘Well it’s kind of early at noon to be asking me what my energy’s gonna be at 4:15.’ Well my energy is just fine,” Christie said. “Let there be no doubt in anybody’s mind about that or about my energy for this endorsement.”