New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie confidently dismissed sagging poll numbers and the increasingly bleak prospects of his presidential bid, telling conservatives Thursday that public opinion at this point would not impact whether or not he’ll run in 2016.
“Is the election next week?” Christie said during a question and answer session at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “If I decide to run for president, I’m not worried about what polls say 21 months before we elect the president of the United States.”
Christie said critics dismissed him in 2009 when he was first elected governor of a blue state. He said he was dismissed again in 2013 when he won re-election with more than 60 percent of the vote.
“I’ll take my chances on me, I’ve done pretty well so far,” Christie told conservative radio host Laura Ingram.
But the popularity of the outspoken governor has taken a significant hit since the bridge scandal that continues to generate headlines. He was once considered a potential frontrunner among Republican contenders in 2016, but the latest NBC News/Marist polls shows him running in the middle of the pack, well behind the likes of Jeb Bush and Scott Walker.
Christie took plenty of shots at the media, specifically the New York Times, for their coverage of his governship and the bridge investigation.
“They just try to kill you,” Christie said. “And here’s the bad news for them, I’m still here.”