Christie to jump in... Make big splash....

Chris Christie to announce 2016 bid as early as next week

By Alex Isenstadt

Chris Christie is in the final stages of preparing his 2016 presidential bid, with a formal announcement possible as soon as next week, according to several sources familiar with the discussions.

The New Jersey governor’s planning has intensified in recent days. On Monday, his campaign-in-waiting announced that he’d hired two additional staffers in New Hampshire, a state seen as critical to his White House hopes. Earlier this month, Maria Comella, a longtime Christie aide, departed the governor’s official office to take a senior position at his political action committee.

A Christie spokeswoman, Samantha Smith, declined to comment. The governor’s aides have previously said that he isn’t likely to launch his presidential campaign until the New Jersey legislature finalizes the state budget — expected to be around the end of June.

The announcement will mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous political career. After defeating a Democratic incumbent in 2009, Christie established himself as the GOP’s foremost rising star — a swaggering, tell-it-like-it-is pol who seemed to be the antidote for a party that was struggling to win over voters in blue states. In the years since, however, Christie’s national prospects have been damaged — especially by the revelations that his top aides concocted a plan to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge in an act of political retribution against a local mayor who refused to endorse the governor’s 2013 reelection bid.

Christie’s once-stratospheric poll numbers — both nationally and in his home state — have since plummeted. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released on Tuesday showed Christie with just a 30 percent approval rating in New Jersey, while a Suffolk University poll showed him winning the support of only 5 percent of likely voters in New Hampshire.

But Christie’s aides insist there’s room for him in the 2016 field. With former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush struggling to distance himself from the rest of the pack, they say, the lane for an establishment candidate remains open. Aides to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is also contemplating a run, have put forward a similar argument for his potential candidacy.

The hope, Christie’s team says, is that his authentic political brand will shine through, both on the debate stage — Republicans are preparing to hold their first primary debate in August — and in New Hampshire. The state has a history of breaking for moderate, independent-minded Republican candidates, and Christie has been a frequent visitor there. Those familiar with his early planning for a 2016 bid say he’s prepared to make it the cornerstone of his electoral strategy.

In anticipation of his announcement, Christie has been hopscotching the country in recent weeks, attending Republican cattle calls in Oklahoma City, Utah and Washington, D.C., where he delivered fiery speeches castigating a Republican rival, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, over national security.

“If you want to know how little [senators] know, watch what Rand Paul’s done the last two weeks,” Christie told Republican donors at a conference in Deer Valley, Utah, hosted by Mitt Romney, referring to Paul’s opposition to the PATRIOT Act. “Because, I will tell you, he’s made America weaker and more vulnerable, and he’s done it for his own personal and political gain, and he’s done it to raise money.”

Christie has also delivered speeches in early primary states in which he’s detailed his policy proposals on issues like entitlements, taxes and electronic surveillance.

In addition to building a campaign apparatus, Christie has also hired for a super PAC, America Leads, that will be supporting his candidacy. The group recently announced that it had brought on Gene Ulm, a veteran Republican pollster, and Mike Leavitt, a mail consultant.

While Christie won’t be nearly as heavily funded as Bush — whose super PAC is believed to have brought in around $100 million so far — the New Jersey governor has a team of donors that includes Home Depot CEO Ken Langone and hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller. Both are expected to write big checks. (“I am going to work my ass off to make sure that Chris Christie never needs money,” Langone told POLITICO in January.)

Earlier this month, Christie dropped another hint that he was nearing a run. While campaigning in New Hampshire, the governor said that his family — one of the last major hurdles to his entering the race — was on board.

“This is about me now,” he said.