By Philip Sean Curran
Former Gov. Chris Christie will headline a fundraiser next month in Middletown for Monmouth County freeholder and Republican state Assembly candidate Gerry P. Scharfenberger.
The Sept. 24 event will be at the home of ShopRite owner Richard Saker, a mutual friend of Christie and Scharfenberger. The cost to attend was not immediately available.
“Naturally, you want support from everyone who’s willing to step up and support you,” Scharfenberger said. “It’s great. And I really appreciate him coming down.”
Scharfenberger worked in the Christie administration for eight years in the Department of State. He is running for an Assembly seat left open in the 13th Legislative district by retiring Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin. He is running with incumbent Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, but the fundraiser Christie is headlining next month is only for Scharfenberger; he and DiMaso have separate campaign fundraising accounts.
“We just each have our own things and that’s sort of understood,” Scharfenberger said. “And so that’s the way we set this up.”
He and DiMaso are opposed by Democrats Allison Friedman and Barbara Singer in the general election. All 80 seats in the Assembly are up for grabs in November.
“I think it’s great for Scharfenberger,” Friedman said about Christie’s planned appearance. “If that is who he wants to align himself with and be backed by, then more power to him. As for us, our campaign, our support stems from people and groups that we believe represent (Legislative district) 13 and who have at heart the safety of our children and families, and that includes their safety being freedom from guns and it includes their safety and growth from having food on their plate.”
Christie left office in January 2018 after two terms and one failed bid for the White House. He carried Monmouth County easily both times he ran for governor. But his popularity around the state plummeted in his final year in office, falling all the way to an approval rating of 15 percent, making him the most unpopular governor in New Jersey history.
Since reentering private life, he has become a commentator for ABC and recently announced plans for a public policy institute.
“Chris Christie is a unique political talent and, therefore, will always be in demand because he’s so good in front of a crowd,” said Benjamin Dworkin, the director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University.
He said Christie is the last Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey, an otherwise Democratic state. That makes Christie, 56, the elder statesman of the party and one of the few in the GOP “who can rally everyone together from Cape May to Mahwah,” Dworkin said.
Scharfenberger said he’s proud to have Christie at his side.
“Listen, he’s had his issues,” Scharfenberger said. “But I’m not one to turn on people. I’m just not like that. I consider him a friend. I’m glad that he’s willing to step up and become involved.”
The fundraiser might be a Christie administration reunion of sorts, with Scharfenberger saying that former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, also a Monmouth County resident, is expected to attend as well.
“There may be other people of note coming too,” he said, “so we’ll see.”
