Republicans don’t have Chris Christie’s name to throw around anymore

Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to steer clear of a presidential bid left the Republican Party right where it has been for months: with a front-runner who has yet to rally the GOP around him and an unsettled field in his wake.

The decision by the New Jersey governor, the latest presidential possibility to tickle the fancy of dissatisfied Republicans, means that the field is likely set. The nomination race remains a contest between Mitt Romney and half a dozen challengers, led by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is now attempting to stabilize his candidacy and coalesce the anti-Romney forces after slipping in recent weeks.

Weighing against any new entrant is an evolving primary calendar that has given the candidates only about 90 more days to raise money and campaign before voting starts in Iowa, a daunting barrier for any late-starting contender.

Christie insisted that, at least in his case, the logistical hurdles could have been overcome. But he said he owed it to the people who put him in office not to “walk away” from the job after 20 months.

“New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me,” Christie said.

During a news conference at his Trenton office, the governor made at least seven references to “serious people” he said had encouraged him to enter the race. He declined to identify any, but recent news accounts have mentioned former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, plus a cadre of wealthy GOP donors who have yet to back a candidate.

They remain cool to Romney, who has stayed at or near the top of the GOP pack all year, and nervous about Perry, whose popularity among conservatives was shaken after he described critics of tuition breaks for illegal immigrants as heartless, wording he has since described as ill-chosen.

A number of new opinion surveys have shown Romney restored to the top of the GOP heap. An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Romney with 25% and Perry tied for second with businessman Herman Cain at 16%. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was third at 11%, about where he has rested for months, and other candidates were in single digits.

Only one prominent Republican — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — has yet to declare a 2012 plan. But party strategists say she would have a difficult time building a sustainable campaign in such a short period of time.

“The race is as much in flux as the day it started,” said Chip Saltsman, who managed Mike Huckabee’s 2008 campaign and is unaligned this time. Some candidate other than Romney and Perry will catch fire this fall, he predicted, “because somebody always does.”

That ignition would likely be in Iowa, where the vast majority of GOP voters have yet to settle on a candidate.

“I don’t see any coalescing going on right now,” said David Roederer, an advisor to Republican Gov. Terry Branstad.

Steve Scheffler, a prominent figure among Iowa’s religious conservatives, said that “any candidate who spends ample time here and has a rock-solid organization has the potential to win” the January caucuses.

But organization remains a question mark for most candidates, including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, as well as Cain, who has drawn attention with his infectious oratory, tax overhaul plan and recent victory over Perry in a Florida straw poll.

The “staying power” of these conservative candidates could shape the final choice of a nominee, said Sara Taylor Fagen, a political advisor in the George W. Bush White House, because Romney will benefit if the conservative vote continues to splinter.

Perry’s early stumbles, including several uninspired debate performances and controversies over immigration and vaccinating young girls, have slowed — but haven’t permanently damaged — his chances of emerging as Romney’s main challenger, several unaligned strategists said.

Dissatisfaction with the field has been a steady undercurrent for months, and its most recent beneficiary, Christie, offered advice Tuesday for those who were hoping to gain his endorsement.

The GOP candidates “should be communicating on the really important issues” — including the nation’s long-term debt, reforming entitlements and the tax code, and improving America’s standing in the world, he said. “I don’t think they’ve done that yet to a large extent.”

And he reacted sharply when asked about critics who said he was too fat to be president and that his weight reflected a lack of self-discipline.

“I don’t think undisciplined people get to achieve great positions in our society,” said Christie, well-known for speaking his mind. “That kind of stuff is just ignorant, and the people who wrote it are ignorant people.”

paul.west@latimes.com