Rove discussed N.J. gubernatorial run with Christie

George W. Bush’s controversial presidency has become a topic of discussion in this year’s New Jersey gubernatorial race.

In an interview on Tuesday former Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove said that he had conversations with Republican nominee Chris Christie when he served as a U.S. Attorney.

Rove told the Newark-Star Ledger that Christie “wanted to school himself on state issues” in case he entered the 2009 campaign for governor, but had not decided to start a campaign and “was a long way away from the practical politics of it.”

Christie’s opponent Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) seized on the report. His staff tweeted on Wednesday “RT @njdotcom Karl Rove and Chris Christie discussed N.J. gov run while serving as U.S. Attorney.”

U.S. Attorney’s cannot engaging in partisan political activities while serving.

Christie’s campaign downplayed the Rove conversation on Tuesday, saying it was “not surprising” Rove had “inquired about Chris’ future plans once his term as U.S. Attorney would come to an end.”

“In this informal conversation, Chris discussed with Mr. Rove the fact he was being urged to run for elected office and Mr. Rove in turn offered to recommend people who could help Chris reach a decision if he eventually seriously considered running for office,” Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella said in a statement.

After opening up a double digit lead in the polls, the latest Quinnipiac numbers show that Corzine had narrowed the lead to single digits, 51-42.