(CNN) – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will host a fundraiser for New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie's re-election bid, a Christie finance source confirmed Thursday.
The event will take place February 13 at the young billionaire's home in Palo Alto, California. A Facebook spokeswoman said Zuckerberg appreciates education reform efforts made in New Jersey.
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"Mark and (his wife) Priscilla have worked closely with Governor Christie on education reform in the Newark school system," Sarah Feinberg said. "They admire his leadership on education reform and other issues and look forward to continuing their important work together on behalf of Newark's school children. Mark and Priscilla are happy to host him at their home to support his re-election."
BuzzFeed first reported the story.
Bill Palatucci, a Christie adviser, said the trip will be "the beginning of a number of out-of-state trips we'll be having to raise money to support the Governor's re-election effort."
"We announced last week that we will not be taking New Jersey's matching funds so we can raise as much as we can from donors," he announced.
This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has been tied to Christie, who's considered to be a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate. The young billionaire appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2010 with the governor and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, to announce a $100 million donation to improving schools in the city.
Zuckerberg praised the state's education reform efforts. According to Booker at the time, 50% of high school students in Newark did not graduate. Booker and Christie hoped that their new plan will provide a model for education reform nationwide.
While Booker was considering a challenge against Christie in this year's gubernatorial election, the popular Democratic mayor decided instead to explore a 2014 Senate bid against Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a fellow Democrat.
In the gubernatorial race, Christie is the overwhelming favorite. Earlier this week, he landed another big union endorsement from the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association–a rare feat for a Republican. Last month he secured the backing of the Laborers International Union of North America.
Zuckerberg did not make any endorsements in the presidential race last year, but Facebook's political action committee dropped money in some elections. The group spent $267,500 on federal candidates: 47% to Democrats, 53% to Republicans, according to the Federal Election Commission.
– CNN's Ashley Killough, Kevin Liptak and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Zuckerberg is making a huge mistake by backing Christie. Zuckerberg needs to at least put on a sport coat before anyone is going to take him seriously. He looks like a poor college student in that sweatshirt.
Markie might want to pay more attention to Facebook's decline rather than Christie's political ambitions.
"Christie is no different than Romney in his views. A repub in a liberal state thinks like a repub... when it comes to getting elected at national level, goes back to the right. Never fails."
I agree and would only add to your comment that Chris Christie is probably as trustworthy as Mr. Mittens was. No doubt Mitt will loan Christie his magic Etch A Sketch before the 2016 election campaigning begins in earnest.
The republicans will never nominate Christie, does not toe the far right/tea party/radicals, speaks his own mind. Believe that he would try to compromise with the dems...but the GOP will never learn, will continue to push the far right candidates, do not understand how they even win the primaries. GOP will probably nominate Paul Ryan, another tea party favorite, expect the GOP to lose again. I used to be registered Republican, even though I never voted along party lines, voted for the best person possible, but with the last Bush/neocons, and the party going so far right, have not voted for any GOP candidates, especially any who took the Norquist pledge
It's nice to see some of the wealthy socialites in tech not blindly falling into the idiocy of blindly supporting anybody with a D next to their name.
Wow.. Those two deserve each other – Obnoxious bully governor and founder of one of world's most hated companies.
THIS IS A NOTHING BUT A GAME Wake up...Mind control nothing else going just the same song and dance