New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) campaign appears to be struggling. Two months after officially launching his campaign, the candidate is sagging in the polls and is failing to compete with his challengers who are dominating the media. And as of last week, he is facing a lawsuit from advocacy groups in his home state demanding he reimburse taxpayers for state funds he has used while campaigning across the country.
New Jersey Working Families, two other groups and a number of New Jersey residents filed a lawsuit Friday asking the court to find that his campaign’s spending constitutes a “wrongful and unprivileged conversion of taxpayer funds.” The suit also asks the court to require Christie’s campaign to reimburse the state for the cost of his security detail’s accommodations he campaigns across the United States.
“Our intent here is really simple,” Analilia Mejia, the executive director of NJ Working Families, told ThinkProgress. “We do not believe that the residents and the taxpayers of the state of New Jersey should be on the hook for what is essentially the private decision our governor made to run for higher office. It is obviously within his right to seek another job. However, it should not automatically mean that New Jersey taxpayers have to redirect precious funds to his private gain.”
Christie has argued he has the right for a security detail as long as he’s governor, but Mejia said that right does not extend to time he spends off the job and out campaigning.
At the Iowa State Fair this weekend, Christie responded to the lawsuit, calling it “just another pile of garbage.”
“It’s just another step by liberal advocacy groups in my state who don’t like the fact that a conservative governor of New Jersey has been running the state for six years,” Christie said. “They’ve sued me over so many things, it’s hard to keep track. This is just another of the pile of garbage that they put a title on and file with a check at the courthouse. So I don’t worry about it at all.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) campaign said earlier this year that it will reimburse Wisconsin taxpayers for his security detail’s travel expenses and would pay the costs moving forward. Mejia said Christie should be expected to do the same.
“[Christie’s] costing us additional resources that he’s the first one to say we do not have,” she said. “All we’re saying is that if he’s incurring a cost for a private decision, he should pay for it.”
Recent polls show Christie ranked 11th among the Republican field. If those standings hold, Christie would be relegated to the second tier debate next month. Politico reported Saturday that Christie is fading into darkness as his campaign is “sinking in the polls and struggling to gain traction in New Hampshire.”