Romney campaign denies Christie report

“It’s not true,” Beth Myers, who led Romney’s vice presidential search, said in a statement to The Hill. Romney’s campaign did not respond to follow-up questions about details of the story.

Politico reported that Romney leaned toward Christie early in the selection process and nearly picked him before changing his mind after returning from his summer trip abroad.

{mosads}There have been recent signs of tension between Christie and Romney. The New Jersey governor heaped praise on President Obama for his response to Hurricane Sandy, which ripped apart New Jersey, and toured the state with him following the storm. Romney aides grumbled during the Republican National Convention about Christie’s speech, which focused mostly on his own story and only mentioned Romney as an afterthought.

But Christie was one of Romney’s first high-profile backers during the campaign, and worked hard for him on the trail during the GOP primaries.

One source close to Christie told The Hill that the New Jersey governor was heavily vetted. That source couldn’t address the Romney campaign’s internal deliberations, but said details of the report were incorrect.

“Only the Romney folks can tell you how close it really was,” the source said. “All I can say is that he was seriously considered but never offered it. Some of the stuff they attribute to Christie or his team is off base, but only the Romney folks can tell you if the gist is correct.”