Booker v. Christie in ’28?

Good morning!

Chris Christie (R), our former governor who made two unsuccessful bids for the White House, said during a panel Tuesday at a New Hampshire gambling convention that he is indeed considering a third run for president.

Adam Sexton with WMUR TV captured Christie’s comments. The ex-gov, who threw in his lot with Donald Trump in 2016, caught COVID at a Trump event in 2020 and almost died, then became a vehement Trump foe after the Jan. 6 riot, said his wife has told him he must find a path to winning if he wants to go for it thrice. His last path to D.C., which amounted to “say mean things about a guy Republicans nearly universally adore,” didn’t seem to do the trick somehow.

“Anybody who comes up here and has ever run for president and not won and told you that they’re not looking at it again, they’re lying,” Christie said. “Once go through the thought process of convincing yourself that you can be president and then next step that you should be president, that doesn’t leave your brain.”

Christie is on a bit of a brand rehab tour lately, though I’m not convinced it’s getting him anywhere with Republicans, who largely love Donald Trump and I bet will not blame him much if the GOP experiences big losses in November.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D) also said this week that, after November’s midterm elections, he and his wife will decide whether he also tries again to win the White House. I think neither he nor Christie have a shot at winning their parties’ nominations, though even the possibility of two Jersey guys running for president at the same time makes me break out in hives.

Data centers: New Jersey issued a $1 million fine to the operators of a gigantic data center in Vineland, alleging they installed dozens of gas-powered generators without the required permits. “This enforcement action — by far the largest ever taken against a data center in New Jersey and possibly one of the largest such actions in the nation — sends a clear message that these facilities will not be constructed or operated with impunity in this state,” said Ed Potosnak, the department’s commissioner. The fine comes as data centers become increasingly loathed by Democrats and Republicans statewide.

More: Last month, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli told residents they’d better suck it up about data centers because data centers are here to stay. Last week, after a data center in his town was responsible for leaking thousands of gallons of fuel into a creek, Gonnelli told a state agency responsible for zoning in the Meadowlands that he wants a pause on new data centers “to allow time for further discussion and analysis,” via Paige Britt at NJ Advance Media. Life comes at you fast.

Offshore wind: New Jersey on Tuesday joined seven other states suing the Trump administration over the buyouts of two offshore wind leases, under which the Trump administration pledged to pay developers Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy $1.4 billion to abandon their projects. The windfarms were slated for the waters off New Jersey and New York. “This Administration is paying developers to abandon building new sources of energy at a time when our grid needs more power to meet demand and residents need relief from high electricity prices,” New Jersey Attorney General Jen Davenport (D) said in a statement. “Wind energy creates well-paid jobs and reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. The president cannot redirect public funds to make unauthorized investments in oil and gas simply because he favors the fossil fuel industry.”

Health: Tuesday was, if you can believe it, the 16th anniversary of the death of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman whose death by suicide became national news after it was revealed that his dormmate had streamed an intimate encounter Clementi had with another man and then harassed him on social media over it. Independent LGBTQ+ scholar Judy Farmer Jarvis is working on a new book out next year that explores the aftermath of Clementi’s death, and she talked to Clementi’s mother for it. “In her mind, and in the mental health professionals’ minds, suicide is so complicated. There can be things that bubble up, like depression and anxiety, but it’s usually never a single cause,” Jarvis told Lilo Stainton.

Hudson County: Desiree Grace, who was briefly New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor until the Trump administration unceremoniously fired her because of its spat with our state’s district court judges, will become Hudson County’s first inspector general. John Heinis at Hudson County View reports that the county’s administrator, Craig Guy, said Grace will “serve as a watchdog” for notoriously corrupt Hudson. “I have dedicated the majority of my career to investigative work aimed at improving the community, and I welcome the opportunity to use that skill set to serve Hudson County in this new initiative,” Grace said.

Trump: The president told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that he faces a big decision when it comes to Iran. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” he asked. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly … Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” His comments gave me reality-show-teaser vibes. “Next week, on ‘The United States of America’ …” He said he expects a deal after November, which should make a lot of nervous Republicans way more nervous.