New Jersey governor Chris Christie says America needs a “strong law enforcer as president” in a new 30-second TV ad. In the spot, Christie, a Republican, lists off examples of “lawlessness in America and around the world under Barack Obama,” including the terror of ISIS, sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, drug problems, and “Iranian radicals with nuclear weapons. Christie adds in leading Democratic candidate for president into the mix.
“Now, Hillary Clinton thinks the law doesn’t apply to her,” he says with an image of a computer server on screen. “Really?”
Watch the ad below:
According to the Christie campaign, the ad is running nationally on the Fox News Channel, though it’s not clear how long the campaign purchased ad time.
Even though he has high name identification, Christie has struggled to break out in the polls. According to Real Clear Politics’s average of national polls, Christie is currently ranked eleventh and is in danger of not qualifying for next month’s main GOP primary debate on CNN. This, despite a relatively strong performance in the August 6 Fox News debate. At the moment his spot is being filled by businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who broke out in her performance in the “undercard” debate this month. The Fox News ad appears designed to boost his performance in national polls of Republican primary voters.
Christie has also been unable to break out in New Hampshire, home of the first primary and the state where he has exerted the most effort and resources so far. In the Real Clear Politics poll average he is tied for fifth place wiith Kentucky senator Rand Paul in New Hampshire and trails Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Scott Walker there.
