Gov. Chris Christie tells Horry County residents they have one of most important votes in the primary
Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told a room of about 100 people in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday that their vote in February is one of the most important ones to be cast in the primary.
“Your job in South Carolina is even more important than it has been in the past few cycles,” Christie said during a campaign stop at Sea Captain’s House Tuesday morning of the first-in-the-South primary next February. “You’re going to be the Goldilocks. Four years ago [the Republican primary] was too cold. Four years later you’re saying it’s too hot. You have to find someone who’s at the right temperature for you.
“You need to decide in your mind and in your heart who you think should be the next president of the United States and then work hard in your state to make it happen,” he said.
Christie spoke for about 15 minutes before taking questions for more than 30 minutes in a packed side room of Sea Captain’s House, fielding questions ranging from border control to health care.
We still want immigrants to come here, we just want them to do it the right way.”
on immigration reform
Karen Williams of Carolina Forest -- who asked Christie what he would do to make healthcare more affordable; Christie said he would get rid of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and switch to a state-based system – said it was important to her to attend Tuesday’s event and see as many Republican candidates as she could before the primary.
“I want to learn as much as I can about each of them, but I might be done learning because I’m very taken with [Christie],” Williams said, adding that as a former Maryland resident – a very Democrat-heavy state – she was excited to feel that her vote would count. “It’s hard being a Republican in a blue state.”
Christie gave brief answers to questions from residents and referred those in attendance to his website, www.ChrisChristie.com. for more specifics about topics such as defense, social security reform and foreign policy – as well as making his case as to why South Carolina residents should vote for him.
“If they want somebody with the strength and the experience to clean up the mess that Barack Obama has left this country,” he said, “they need somebody who knows how to fight and fight for them.”
I feel good. How do I look? You know what I learned? If you eat less, you lose weight.”
when asked about his health
Horry County Republican Party Chairman Robert Rabon, who had a little less than a week to coordinate a place for Christie to speak, said he’s excited about working to bring all of the GOP candidates to the area. He said it’s been hard to get people to the Myrtle Beach area during the summer because of the high number of tourists in town.
“When they come they want to see mostly local people – and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way,” Rabon said. “This is South Carolina, they’re trying to see South Carolina people. After September it will really pick up.”
Maya T. Prabhu: 843-444-1722, @TSN_mprabhu
This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Gov. Chris Christie tells Horry County residents they have one of most important votes in the primary."