PORTLAND, Maine - Gov. Paul LePage Wednesday became the first Republican governor to announce a pick in the 2016 presidential race. Maine's outspoken chief executive is backing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who this week became the fourteenth major candidate to join the GOP presidential primary, and who made a brief visit to southern Maine.
LePage took a break from the confrontational atmosphere in Augusta Wednesday morning, and headed down to Becky's Diner on the Portland waterfront to meet someone he describes as a good friend.
"I today am endorsing Chris Christie for the president of the United States because I think he's the real deal," LePage said. "He's been a governor, he knows what hard decisions are, he's going to make them, he's not going to be a politician and talk out of both sides of his mouth."
"To get an endorsement from Paul LePage today is an incredible honor for me," Christie said. And to receive a show of support like this so early in the race, said Christie, tells you a lot about the kind of person that LePage is.
"Lots of people may try to play the game of deciding to watch for a while and see which way things go. That's not Paul," Christie said. "When I called him this weekend and told him I was officially going to get into the race this week, he said 'I'm with you, let's go.' "
When asked his opinion on accusations that LePage misused his power over a Maine charter school to settle a personal political score, Christie said he was fully behind the governor.
"Controversies come and go, leadership is what stands strong and firm," he said. "And that's what this governor has stood for his entire time in office. I stand with him not only on that, but on all the other tough things he's been doing surrounding that budget."
Christie detoured from a planned event in New Hampshire to visit Maine - a trip described by the New York Times as "pure political payback." That's a reference to Gov. Christie's last trip here in 2014, when as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association he offered support to LePage - support now considered critical in getting LePage re-elected last fall.
Ron Schmidt is associate professor of political science at the University of Southern Maine. He says Christie's association with LePage may also be part of a strategy to boost his standing in the state next door.
"From what I understand he's planning on spending some serious time in New Hampshire," Schmidt says, "and trying to do the town hall approach that worked for him in New Jersey when he was running for re-election. And that is a strength of his."
Schmidt says success in New Hampshire could help boost Christie's poor standing in the national polls right now. "And that may also be why he wanted to be seen with LePage - to make the argument that this is another tough-talking, clearly-stated, Republican governor, in a purple, if not generally even blue, state, and then try and create some sense of momentum for himself going into New Hampshire."
However, Schmidt doubts that LePage's support for Christie in the GOP primary will have the same impact that Christie's support had for LePage in last year's Maine governor's race.
LePage's endorsement of Christie comes on the same day that Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced her presidential pick: In an interview with MPBN, Collins said she'll be supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in next year's GOP primary.
