Chris Christie’s prospects for the No. 2 man on the Republican presidential ticket appear to have faded somewhat in recent days, but the always-unpredictable Donald Trump could do worse than his former primary rival.

The New Jersey governor would bring executive experience in the political sphere, well-honed debating skills, ties to the GOP Establishment, tons of experience on the campaign trail, and compatibility on many of the crucial issues that fueled Trump’s run through the primaries.

“It would be kind of a flip-flop from the normal practice. Or — you could just have two attack dogs.”

The key question might be how to deploy Christie. Normally, a running mate serve as an attack dog, tearing into the nominee from the opposing party while allowing his own nominee to float above the fray while seeming presidential. But attack dog is a role that Trump himself seems to relish.

Kyle Kopko, an expert on running mates at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, said a Trump-Christie ticket might decide to assign Christie the role of reserved, policy wonk.

“It would be kind of a flip-flop from the normal practice,” he said. “Or — you could just have two attack dogs.”

Christie, whose own bid for the White House failed to catch fire in the primaries this year, was the first major Republican figure endorse Trump. And he heads up the New York billionaire’s transition team, fanning speculation that he is on Trump’s short list for running mate.

But the Star-Ledger, citing anonymous sources in the Trump camp, reported last week that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has the inside track on the No. 2 slot. Gingrich is also the favorite on PredictIt, a political prediction market. Christie is running third.

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Christie Pros & Cons
Experts said Christie would bring a number of liabilities. He is a controversial figure in New Jersey, and has battled perceptions of pettiness connected to allegations that his aides ordered the closure of a lane of traffic on the George Washington Bridge as payback for a local mayor’s refusal to endorse his re-election bid. He would neither bring foreign policy experience that Trump lacks nor fill one of Trump’s stated niches — someone with Washington experience who could help shepherd legislation through Congress.

What Christie would bring, though, is a knack for tenacious campaigning and fundraising. He tied with Gov. John Kasich for the most campaign stops in New Hampshire this year — 190. As chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2013-2014, he spent 70 days on the road and helped raise $102 million to help the party score big wins in 2014 gubernatorial races.

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Perhaps most importantly, Christie would bring a meeting of the minds with Trump on issues that have divided the party. Unlike other potential choices, he would not have to answer awkward questions about disagreements with Trump on trade, immigration, or foreign policy. His speech in January at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire could have been ripped from Trump’s notebook. On immigration, he criticized a “cavalier approach to the rule of law,” and added that Americans have legitimate reasons for concern.

“But it [the party platform] should make clear that for now we must focus on enforcement to rebuild the people’s trust in their government on this vital question,” he said. “I’ve spent a fair amount of time on this immigration because it’s received so much attention, because it is controversial.”

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On trade, Christie said he supports commerce with other nations.

“But can anyone truly say that U.S. trade policy is working as advertised?” he asked, before blasting the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. “This deal is almost 5,600 pages long. You can’t tell me anybody has read it yet — or read it thoroughly.”

On foreign policy, Christie warned against a knee-jerk defense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Instead, I think there’s a recognition that conservative critics of recent GOP policy have a point and that we should listen to them instead of calling them names,” he said. “At a minimum, it seems to me those critics should be assured that the Republican Party has learned its lesson from the events of the last decade and that going forward our foreign policy will focus aggressively on protecting the homeland first and foremost, and the American people and their interests around the world.”

Christie’s Rapport with Trump
Kopko, whose research has suggested that running mates are inconsequential, said this year might be different since both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are so unpopular. And, he noted, Christie and Trump have a strong personal rapport — an important consideration.

Joel Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency at the St. Louis University School of Law, said running mates do matter at the margins — adding that the margins are where close elections are won and lost. They also are among the most revealing decisions nominees make in a campaign, he said.

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“The choice of a running mate sends messages about the presidential candidate,” he said. He noted that Christie would indicate that Trump is not interested in conventional notions of ticket-balancing that traditional politicians strive for in running mate selections. Christie is outspoken, unafraid to confront political correctness, and can be polarizing — just like Trump.

“If he picks Gov. Christie, he would be doubling down on a certain sort of persona,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein said Trump may want Christie opposite whomever Clinton chooses as her second banana. He said Christie “was very effective in the debate going after Sen. [Marco] Rubio,” a reference to the governor’s relentless mocking of the senator from Florida over his robotic answers to questions.

Not everyone thinks the veep decision is vital. Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said Trump is likely to overshadow whoever runs with him.

“I think it’s all about Trump, and the running mate doesn’t matter much,” he said.