New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he “met expectations” in Iowa, after having received less than 2 percent of all GOP caucus-goers and only finished ahead of Rick Santorum, Jim Gilmore and “other.”
“I am pleased to announce that I performed exactly as I expected in Iowa,” Christie told reporters with a grin. “We are happy to say we have met expectations in Iowa and we’re now moving on to New Hampshire.”
The Christie campaign doubled down on the governor’s remarks and released a statement saying, “we were never playing to win in Iowa” and “nothing happened in Iowa we didn’t expect.”
Christie said he “didn’t make any secret to Iowa” that he was placing his emphasis on New Hampshire, but three days before the caucus Christie said he wanted to finish as the top governor in the 2016 race.
“I think we have to over-perform expectations here,” Christie said in a radio interview. “What I would love to be able to do is make sure that we beat Governor Kasich here, for sure. And I would like to see us beat Governor Bush here as well. I would like to come out as the top governor in Iowa if possible.”
Christie lost to Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee dropped out after his loss in the Hawkeye State.
The New Jersey governor, however, remained undeterred in front of reporters and said, “Iowa basically didn’t change anything last night.”
Christie also focused on one his top targets in New Hampshire, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Christie needled Rubio’s optimistic tone after finishing third in Iowa.
“I got back from a town hall about 10:30 so I got to my hotel room, I turned on the TV and I heard Marco giving his speech and I’m like, ‘Damn, did Marco win?'” Christie said. “Did Rubio actually wi — no he came in third.”
The governor also took a shot at Bush’s large expenditures in Iowa.
“Now, of course, [Rubio] didn’t have the worst day because Jeb Bush spent $15 million to get three percent, and we spent $500,000 to get two percent,” Christie said. “So who you want managing your money?”
Christie ranks seventh in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power rankings. Rubio and Bush rank third and fourth respectively.
