Gov. Chris Christie got a slam dunk of an endorsement on Sunday when Newark, N.J.-born basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal announced his support for the Republican governor’s re-election.
“I don’t endorse many politicians,” Shaq said. “But Chris Christie is different.”
Shaq praised the governor in a YouTube video, commending him for job creation and education funding, before flashing an silhouetted image of Christie at the shoreline, harkening back to Christie’s famous hands-on response to the devastation from Hurricane Sandy. The endorsement comes just days before both the NBA basketball season begins and the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.
Shaq’s in no danger of swaying the race—Christie leads Democratic challenger Barbara Buono by 29 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll.
Jane Timm