Reports say Christie reconsidering a run, but others deny

By Josh Lederman - 09/24/11 01:24 PM ET

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may be reconsidering his unyielding vow that a 2012 run for president isn't in the cards, according to multiple reports.

After Republican donors pleaded with Christie to reverse his decision, Christie told donors he would reconsider and give them a decision within days, Newsmax reported.

A source told The New York Post that Christie was under "huge pressure from high-ranking Republicans and fund-raisers” and that he would "decide this week.”

But the Post also said three sources close to Christie had flat-out denied those reports and said nothing has changed.

The brash-talking governor has been an omnipresent, looming spirit in the background - and sometimes the foreground - of the GOP presidential race from the very beginning. Republicans have traveled to New Jersey from throughout the United States to urge him to run, and the declared candidates have eagerly sought out his ear.

Questions about a presidential bid have become an expected, routine element at his news conferences, where he has directly and repeatedly said he will not run.

This is not the first time rumors that Christie is reconsidering have emerged and spread explosively across the Internet. In August, Bloomberg columnist Jonathan Alter tweeted that Christie was running focus groups testing his presidential prowess, sending reporters into a frenzy to confirm it with Christie aides, who all adamantly denied it. Within hours, Alter backed away from his claim.

But Christie has expressed sympathy for those whose dissatisfaction with the current GOP field has instigated the constant calls for him to run, and said the Republican candidates haven't been honest about the sacrifices needed to deal with the fiscal crisis.

"The fact that nobody yet who's running for president, in my view, has done that effectively is why you continue to hear people ask Daniels if he'll reconsider and ask me if I'll reconsider," Christie said Thursday at an appearance with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R).