Christie to Campaign for GOP Nominee for Miss. Governor

The Republican nominee for Mississippi governor is getting campaign help next week from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour are scheduled to appear at a get-out-the-vote rally for Phil Bryant. It’s set for 5 p.m. Nov. 3 at Hinds Community College in the Jackson suburb of Pearl.

Bryant faces Democrat Johnny DuPree in the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election. The winner of the two-man race takes office Jan. 10. Barbour couldn’t seek a third term this year. Bryant, 56, is the first-term lieutenant governor, and DuPree, 57, is in his third term as mayor of Hattiesburg.

The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, campaigned for DuPree in Mississippi last week.

Bryant has outspent DuPree nearly 7-to-1 in a campaign in which the two candidates have largely avoided criticizing each other. Christie had been scheduled to speak Aug. 31 in Jackson at a $250-a-ticket fundraiser for the Mississippi Republican Party that was also a tribute to Barbour. Christie canceled that trip to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in his home state. The Bryant event is free, according to the campaign.