New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Now, campaign insiders tell POLITICO that Christie was Mitt Romney’s first choice for the Republican ticket, lending an intriguing new context to the continuing drama around the Garden State governor.the front page of the New York Post blared that he had turned Romney down.“Revealed: the secret reason Chris would not run for VP,” the cover said. The inside article reported that Christie “wasn’t willing to give up the New Jersey statehouse to be Mitt Romney’s running mate because he doubted they’d win.”"The fact of the matter is what New Jerseyans expect from their governor is to work for them, not to work for any particular political party," Christie told Israel's Channel 2 television in an interview broadcast on Sunday.I'm a Republican and I have endorsed Mitt Romney, I support him and I intend to vote for him on Tuesday," said Christie, interviewed in his home state by a visiting Israeli television reporter...If the president of United States comes here and he's willing to help my people and he does it then I'm gonna say nice things about him because he's earned it.Anybody who is upset in the Republican Party about this, they haven't been to New Jersey. Come see the destruction, come see the loss."