http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/11/08/did-chris-christie-just-try-to-knife-an-ally/Did Chris Christie just try to knife an ally?
By Reid Wilson
November 8 at 9:23 am
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), fresh off a landslide reelection win and seemingly with an eye on the 2016 presidential race, spent Thursday trying to oust a longtime Republican ally from power.
Christie and his staff lobbied Republican state senators to dump their leader, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., after three terms atop the GOP conference. At least four Republican senators paraded through Christie’s office Thursday morning to get the hard sell.
Christie was pushing Senate Republicans to choose Kevin O’Toole, an Essex senator, to replace Kean. Ultimately, Kean won 10 of the 16 votes inside the Republican conference to keep his job.After the meeting, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Kean and O’Toole emerged from a conference room sweating.