The 61-year-old is banking on New Hampshire voters to give him a jolt of momentum similar to what John McCain enjoyed in 2008, when the Arizona senator used a blowout primary win to coast to the Republican nomination.
But what’s the plan after New Hampshire’s votes are cast?
“Michigan,” Christie told The Post following a town hall last week.
The Great Lakes State will host the sixth contest on the Republican primary calendar, doling out 55 delegates via a two-pronged process — with 16 allocated based on the Feb. 27 primary and the remaining 39 awarded at a party convention on March 2.
Before that, Republican National Convention delegates will be awarded in Nevada and South Carolina, as well as the US Virgin Islands.
“Nevada is, you know, problematic because of the way they set up the process,” Christie said, referring to the Silver State’s dueling primary/caucus setup that critics believe could confuse voters and be skewed toward former President Donald Trump.
Like New Hampshire, Michigan allows unaffiliated voters to participate in the primary, which could benefit a moderate Republican like Christie.
But while Christie’s time in the Granite State has been rewarded with double-digit support, he’s failed to crack 2% in the RealClearPolitics aggregate of Michigan polls.
Corwin Smidt, chair of the political science department at Michigan State University, told The Post he was skeptical of Christie’s strategy, though he noted that it is not uncommon for state voters to fall in behind a successful candidate.
“Biden was doing terrible in Michigan in January of 2020. He was losing,” Corwin recalled. “Then suddenly South Carolina happened.”
In order for the Michigan play to work, however, Christie still needs to turn in a strong performance in New Hampshire, which is his campaign’s top priority.
“You have to really show up and perform well in one of the early states. That is just a must-do,” a source close to the campaign told The Post.
“We’re gonna keep keep our focus in New Hampshire.”
“You have to really show up and perform well in one of the early states. That is just a must-do,” a source close to the campaign told The Post.
With seven weeks to go until primary day, the scramble for the Granite State is starting to kick into high gear.
New Hampshire is generally regarded as the least religious state in the country.
Although it currently touts a Republican governor and GOP-controlled legislature, it has backed the Democratic presidential candidate in every cycle since 2004.
Still, former President Donald Trump is the reigning polling king among Granite State Republicans, and experts see little chance for Christie to break through.
“The problem for Christie is, he’s antagonized those Trump voters a lot and he’s antagonized other Republicans a lot,” Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, told The Post.
“[Christie] is quite an unpopular figure among mainstream Republicans. He is a Democrat’s idea of a good Republican,” agreed Dante Scala, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. “That’s not a great place to grow from.”
Christie has partially embraced that antagonism, priding himself on “telling it like it is.”