Nobody expects Chris Christie to win Iowa, but he does have an ace card up his sleeve: The tacit support of longtime moderate Gov. Terry Branstad, whose vast political network remains the state's most coveted human resource.
Christie's goal in Iowa, according to multiple people familiar with his plans, is to do better than expected by taking votes away from Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio — his chief competitors in the Republican primary's crowded establishment lane. Beating Bush and giving a scare to Rubio, the thinking inside his orbit goes, would give the New Jersey governor a head of steam going into New Hampshire, a do-or-die state for Christie.
His ability to leverage Branstad's network, with its hundreds of officials and supporters built over the governor's decades at the pinnacle of Iowa politics, is crucial to those hopes.
The wooing of Branstad began when Christie chaired the Republican Governors Association, a perch he used to funnel money and other help to his Iowa colleague. During the 2014 election cycle, the RGA poured $2.3 million into Iowa through media and direct contributions to boost Branstad.
"Christie's worked the state for a long time and punched tickets — particularly on the establishment side — for a long time," said Doug Gross, a former chief of staff to Branstad. "So he's in a position on the establishment side to take advantage of that."
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http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/chris-christie-terry-branstad-iowa-217418
