What is Chris Christie doing in the Hudson Valley Today?
If you happen to be visiting a local business in Kingston today you may run into former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie.
Chris Christie may no longer be in politics, but that isn't stopping him from dipping his toe into to a local congressional race. You may remember Chris Christie from one of the many scandals that plagued his second term as governor of New Jersey. When he left office, Christie had the lowest approval rating in the state's history. The former governor's legacy was blemished by the George Washington lane closure scandal, which alleged that Christie and his office slowed traffic on the bridge to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, who refused to endorse Christie's reelection campaign for governor.
Probably the most memorable image of Christie is the infamous photo of him and his family sitting on a completely empty New Jersey beach in the summer. Toward the end of his time in office, Christie was engaged in a budgetary standoff and ordered all state beaches closed as part of a government shutdown.
He was later photographed sitting in a folding chair on a completely empty Island Beach State Park with his family. Christie later defended the beach trip saying that even though the state park was closed to the public, he had the right to be there since his family was staying at a private residence.
After leaving office, Christie briefly launched a presidential campaign before bowing out of the race and throwing his support behind Donald Trump. Christie is now a registered lobbyist and spends much of his time talking politics on cable news channels. He has become more critical of former president Trump since the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
Today, Christie is making a visit to the Hudson Valley to tour some of Kingston's local businesses and restaurants. The former New Jersey Governor will be talking with small business owners and taking in the local cuisine while campaigning for Marc Molinaro. The tour will end with a town hall meeting with Christie at a sports bar and restaurant.
The visit comes one day after former governor George Pataki was seen making campaign stops with Molinaro in Hudson, Saugerties and Germantown. Molinaro is in a tight race against Democrat Josh Riley, who was holding a lead over the Republican in polls earlier this month. The two are battling it out for New York's 19th district seat, which Molinaro lost to Congressman Pat Ryan during a special election in August.
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