BY REBECCA SHEEHAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Did you know that back in May, Governor Chris Christie had a political fundraiser for his campaign, and not one of his longtime backers in attendance wrote him a single check? Why you might ask?

The New Jersey state law legally prohibited some backers in attendance from contributing large amounts to the campaign due to their sizable contracts with state agencies. But these backers did find a loophole in order to support their beloved Christie.

According to the New York Times, donors instead were able to write checks for $100,000 to the Republican Governors  Association (R.G.A.) – which is an organization  that Christie helps lead that has collected $1.65 million from Garden State donors during the first six months of the year.  And on the flip side, the RGA has donated $1.7 million toward Christie’s re-election by developing advertisements attacking his opponent Democratic Senator Barbara Buono.

New Jersey’s pay-to-play law strictly limits the participation of state contractors in political giving, but Christie along with the R.G.A’s carefully planned independent spending campaigns are somehow undermining the law.

“I don’t view it as a workaround,” said Wayne J. Positan in a New York Times article. Positan is a lawyer who attended the May fund-raiser and whose firm has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in new state work since Mr. Christie took office. “I view it as making a contribution to the R.G.A.,” he added, “and they provide a really good forum for governors to work together.”

Although Buono can’t utilize the same monetary backing as her competitor, the Democrat has been lavishly backed by outside groups and unions as well. One New Jersey, a nonprofit organization, has already spent $2.8 million on television and radio ads attacking Mr. Christie for opposing tax increases on the wealthy and for vetoing an increase in the minimum wage.