Romney endorses Chris Christie

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Thursday endorsed former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) in his bid for governor of New Jersey.

Christie is considered the frontrunner in the Republican primary to take on Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in the general election this November.

In a statement, Romney applauded Christie’s conservative record.

“Chris Christie is a strong conservative voice for balanced budgets, low taxes and more jobs,” Romney said. “He will bring badly-needed change to state government.”

The New Jersey gubernatorial race is considered an indicator for whether the GOP can recover in New England. Christie is a top recruit and is leading Corzine in recent polls.

Romney’s PAC, the Free and Strong America PAC, has been a fundraising machine, so it’ll be interesting to watch how much money it funnels to Christie’s campaign.

jeremy.jacobs@digital-stage.thehill.com