Allan Fung wins endorsement from Chris Christie in hotly contested Rhode Island race

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Republican Rhode Island hopeful Allan Fung within the race for the state’s 2nd Congressional District on Monday.

Christie introduced his massive character to the nation’s smallest state Monday to stump for Fung throughout Columbus Day festivities in Windfall and touted Fung as a mannequin for the Republican Social gathering and the nation extra broadly.

REPUBLICAN ALLAN FUNG LEADS DEMOCRAT IN DEEP-BLUE RHODE ISLAND DISTRICT: POLL

“We want extra individuals like Allan Fung in Congress,” Christie advised ABC 6 Information. “People who find themselves good, who vote their ideas, and can work throughout the aisle.”

“I need somebody who’s going to go down there and hearken to the opposite facet, and attempt to discover some frequent floor,” the previous governor added.

Christie joins a rising listing of nationwide Republicans eyeing the Ocean State congressional contest. Final month, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker headlined a fundraiser for Fung. The Congressional Management Fund, which is aligned with Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), reportedly plans to pour upward of $1 million into the race in hopes of eking out an upset victory.

District 2 has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold. President Joe Biden received the district by double digits in 2020, however Fung has managed to ballot strongly towards his Democratic rival Seth Magaziner within the congressional contest. A latest ballot, which had a big margin of error of plus or minus 6.2 proportion factors, discovered Fung edging out Magaziner by 6 factors.

The seat is held by outgoing Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), and because the former mayor of Cranston, the second-largest metropolis within the state, Fung brings ample identify recognition into the race. Magaziner presently serves because the state treasurer.

Magaziner’s group was fast to return hearth following Christie’s stump for Fung, deploying their typical go-to assault line with Fung, in search of to caricature him as catering to extremist Republicans.

“If Allan Fung is palling round with excessive Republicans like Chris Christie who needs to chop Social Safety and ban abortion, think about who he’ll tie himself to in Congress,” mentioned Magaziner’s communications director Patricia Socarras.

“Rhode Islanders can’t danger sending Allan Fung to Congress when he has repeatedly proven he helps essentially the most excessive components of his celebration,” she added.

Christie beforehand backed Fung in a 2014 race during which Fung unsuccessfully vied for governor towards Gina Raimondo.

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Christie revealed that he’s mulling a 2024 marketing campaign for the presidency throughout an look on Actual Time with Invoice Maher final Friday. He additionally threw shade at former President Donald Trump, with whom relations seem to have frayed.

“The issue with the Republican Social gathering is we’ve executed a whole lot of dropping currently. Since 2016, we misplaced the Home, we misplaced the Senate, we misplaced the White Home, we misplaced two winnable Senate seats within the state of Georgia. I’m bored with dropping,” Christie mentioned.