Who is Chris Christie? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Sondra A. Grasso, Wilbur James “Bill” Christie, Mary Pat Foster, Jon Corzine, Andrew, Sarah, Patrick, Bridget and the early life and education of the former 55th governor of New Jersey between 2010 and 2018.
Chris Christie also known as Christopher James Christie is a politician and former federal prosecutor from the United States
He was the 55th governor of New Jersey between 2010 and 2018.
He belonged to the Republican Party and also served as New Jersey’s US Attorney from 2002 until 2008.
In the Republican presidential primary elections of 2024, Chris Christie is a contender.
Early Life and Education
Chris Christie was born on September 6, 1962, in Newark, New Jersey to Sondra A. Grasso, a telephone receptionist, and Wilbur James “Bill” Christie, a certified public accountant with a degree from Rutgers Business School.
His father, Wilbur James is of German, Scottish, and Irish origin, while his mother is of Italian (Sicilian) ancestry.
Christie’s family fled to Livingston, New Jersey, during the 1967 Newark riots. Christie stayed there until he graduated from Livingston High School in 1980.
In addition to catching up on the baseball team and serving as class president at Livingston, Christie was chosen to represent New Jersey in the United States Senate Youth Program.
Chris Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1984. He also served as the student body president during that time.
In 1987, he received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.
He was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar Association and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey’s Bar in December 1987.
2010 saw Christie receive honorary doctorates from Monmouth University and Rutgers University.
Chris Christie’s Family and Personal life
Christie married Mary Pat Foster, a classmate at the University of Delaware, in 1986. Following their marriage, they shared a studio flat in Summit, New Jersey.
Mary Pat Christie worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on Wall Street after pursuing a career in investment banking; she left the company in 2001 as a result of the September 11 attacks.
She was a managing director as of April 2015 with Wall Street investment company Angelo, Gordon & Co.
Andrew (1993), Sarah (1996), Patrick (2000), and Bridget (2003) are the couple’s four children.
Their household is located in Mendham Township and the other family home is in Bay Head.
Coaching Little League, following the New York Mets, and going to 141 Bruce Springsteen concerts have all been among Christie’s hobbies.
The Dallas Cowboys, New York Rangers, and New York Knicks are among Christie’s other favourite sports franchises.
He attends St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and is an active Catholic.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Following Christie’s and a running mate’s victory over incumbents in the party primary, he was chosen as a Republican to the Board of Chosen Freeholders, or lawmakers, for Morris County, New Jersey, in 1994.
After the election, Christie made the decision to run for office and relocated to Mendham Township.
He had filed a primary campaign against John H. Dorsey, the majority leader of the New Jersey Senate, in 1993. Christie’s campaign, however, came to an end when Dorsey was able to successfully refute the legitimacy of Christie’s petition to be included on the ballot.
In 1995, Christie declared his intention to run for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly. In the Republican primary, he was joined by lawyer Rick Merkt to take on incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Bucco and lawyer Michael Patrick Carroll.
Bucco and Carroll easily defeated them and after this defeat, Christie’s chances of being re-nominated for the freeholder board were slim, as disgruntled Republicans chose John J. Murphy to challenge Christie in 1997.
Christie lost to Murphy in the primary. After the election, Christie sued Murphy for falsely alleging that Christie had the county cover his legal costs in the architect’s lawsuit.
In an out-of-court settlement, the freeholders admitted misconduct and expressed regret. By 1998, Christie’s political career in Morris County had ended.
Christie returned his full attention to his legal business Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci when his term as a selected freeholder expired.
Bill Palatucci, a fellow partner and subsequent governor campaign contributor, and Christie’s firm established a lobbying-focused office in Trenton, the state capital.
Between 1999 and 2001, Christie and Palatucci lobbied on behalf of a number of organizations.
Christie served as George W. Bush’s campaign attorney for the state of New Jersey during the 2000 presidential election.
United States Attorney Appointment
On December 7, 2001, he was appointed by President Bush as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Christie was a significant contributor to Bush’s 2000 re-election effort. He gave to DiFrancesco as well as Bush, making him a “Pioneer” for his role in raising $350,000 for Bush.
From January 17, 2002, through December 1, 2008, Christie was the U.S. Attorney. With locations in Camden, Trenton, and Newark, his firm had 137 attorneys.
Christie also participated in the John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales’s 17-person Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys.
Christie as New Jersey’s Governor
On January 8, 2009, Christie declared himself a candidacy for the position of governor.
Thomas Kean, a former governor, assisted Christie in his fundraising efforts. In the Republican primary on June 2, Christie defeated rivals Steve Lonegan and Rick Merkt by garnering 55% of the vote.
He subsequently decided to run for lieutenant governor, selecting Kimberly Guadagno, sheriff of Monmouth County.
On November 3, Christie defeated Jon Corzine by a margin of 49% to 45%, with independent candidate Chris Daggett receiving 6% of the vote.
Christie submitted his paperwork to run for re-election in November 2012. He defeated Democratic nominee Barbara Buono on November 5, 2013, by a significant margin of 60% to 38%.
Given that only one other state held a governor election in 2013, Christie was able to start establishing a national network of donors.
Following Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Christie was named head of the Republican Governors Association in November 2013.
He made a significant effort to support Republican governors seeking re-election. The RGA raised more money in the first three months of 2014 than the Democratic Governors Association did in the same time period, setting a record for the first quarter of a midterm election year.
In the 2014 elections, Christie presided over net wins for Republicans seeking governorships, notably for Bruce Rauner in Illinois, Larry Hogan in Maryland, and Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, three states with significant Democratic populations.
Chris Christie’s Presidential Elections
In order to gather money and be ready for a potential 2016 presidential run, Christie established a political action committee (PAC) in January 2015, marking his first official move in that direction.
Christie started his presidential campaign website on June 27, 2015. On June 30, 2015, he made his candidacy official.
Following a poor showing and low poll numbers in the New Hampshire primary, Christie withdrew from the race on February 10, 2016. In the New Hampshire primary, his entire vote share was 7.4%.
He then offered to support Trump’s reelection in 2020. He assisted the president in getting ready for the first debate with rival Joe Biden.
Christie stated to radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in December 2020 that he was not excluding himself from running for president in 2024.
On June 6, 2023, he registered to run for president with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and he declared his candidacy later that day at a gathering in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Achievements and Awards
Chris Christie joined the Cranford, New Jersey-based legal team of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci in 1987. He became a partner in the company in 1993.
He specialized in government affairs, election law, appellate practice and securities law gaining vast experience in those fields.
He served on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Election Law Committee and is a member of both the American Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association.
From 1999 through 2001, Christie worked as a statehouse lobbyist for Dughi and Hewit.
He announced shortly after taking office that public corruption would be his agency’s second-highest priority after terrorism. He was praised for his track record of public corruption convictions during his six-year term.
Controversies
On a route in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in July 2002, Christie was part of a collision that wounded a motorcyclist, yet he did not receive a traffic citation.
When Christie was campaigning for governor in September 2009, the event came back to light.
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