Gov. Chris Christie plans on speaking next month at a congressional dinner in Washington, D.C. hosted by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, NJBIZ has learned.
News of Christie’s upcoming appearance follows an announcement earlier this month that U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez would also be speaking at the Feb. 16 dinner, which is part of the Chamber’s annual “Walk to Washington” event.
The two-day “Walk to Washington” features a chartered Amtrak train that takes politicians and members of the state’s business community from several points in New Jersey to the nation's capital, making stops along the way in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. In Washington, guests attend the congressional dinner at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel before retiring to the Garden State the following morning on another chartered train.
For Christie, this year will mark his sixth time attending the “Walk to Washington.”
The Chamber also confirmed that a number of Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates including ex-Goldman Sachs executive and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) would also be attending the event.
“It’s traditional in gubernatorial election years,” said Chamber communications manager Scott Goldstein. “Those that run for governor first ‘Walk to Washington.’”
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), the current dean of the state’s congressional delegation, will also be in attendance, the Chamber noted.