N.J. Gov. Christie says 'no' to State of the Union response

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) turned down an offer to rebut President Obama's State of the Union address, according to a top Christie adviser. 

Bill Palatucci told The Star Ledger that the Republican leadership in Washington contacted the governor's office to see if Christie had any interest in giving the party's official response Tuesday night. The answer was no.

"They tried to see if there was some interest and there wasn't any," Palatucci told the paper. "The governor is in the midst of his legislative agenda. There's no reason to try to get involved in federal issues." 

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) will give the party's official televised response Tuesday night.

Christie has been fighting off rumors that he's interested in a run for president in 2012 for months, speculation that would have only increased had Christie been pegged with GOP response duties Tuesday night. 

The first term governor, who has won accolades from conservatives nationwide for efforts to slash the state's budget and take on organized labor, has repeatedly said he will not run for president in 2012.

In this past weekend's presidential straw poll in New Hampshire, Christie recieved 3 percent of the vote, which tied him with rumored hopefuls like Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Christie was at the White House last week for a state dinner honoring China's president.

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