Maine’s Paul LePage became the first sitting governor to endorse a candidate in the 2016 GOP nomination race, throwing his support behind Christie Christie’s fledgling bid for president.
Mr. LePage said that the New Jersey governor has been an inspiration to him over his career and said Mr. Christie, as the head of the Republican Governors Association, played an instrumental role in helping him win re-election last year.
“I think he’s the real deal,” Mr. LePage said at a press conference in Portland, Maine. “He’s been a governor. He knows what hard decisions are. He’s going to make them. He’s not going to be a politician and talk out of both sides of his mouth. What he is going to do is tell you things you may not want to hear, but you need to hear. And then he is going to go to work to fix it.”
Mr. Christie returned to his high school in New Jersey on Tuesday to announce he is running for president and headed to New England for the LePage announcement and campaign stops in neighboring New Hampshire.
The Democratic National Committee panned the endorsement, pointing out that some state lawmakers in Maine are pushing to impeach Mr. LePage after he threatened to withhold funds from a school that had hired a Democratic rival.
“The first major endorsement Governor Christie receives after announcing he’s running for president is from a governor who is facing impeachment threats for his role in exacting retribution upon a political adversary,” said Kaylie Hanson, DNC spokesperson. “Can’t say we’re surprised.”
In his endorsement announcement, Mr. LePage described himself as a businessman who likes “to get things done.”
“I don’t play the political game pretty well. Never have, never will. And I don’t plan to learn,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.