Jackson Free Press

Chris Christie's chances of winning the Mississippi Republican primary are about as good as the chance that a commuter on the George Washington Bridge would make it home in time for dinner in September 2013—very small.

Yet, the New Jersey governor and possible presidential candidate is in Mississippi today, helping the state Republican Party raise money. Christie and Gov. Phil Bryant will appear at Primos Cafe in Flowood at 1 p.m. for a meet and greet. Later, Christie will appear at a closed-door fundraiser at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson.

If Christie gets in the growing Republican field, his moderate views could help him appeal to his party's middle and, possibly, centrist Democrats in the general election. However, the far-right wing of the GOP has long doubted whether Christie is conservative enough for members of the party's base, who are most likely to show up to vote in primaries.

In 2012, former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a staunch and controversial conservative, finished in first place in Mississippi's primary while the more moderate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the party's nomination before losing to President Obama.

Ouida Meruvia, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Democratic Party, decried the fundraising trip and Bryant's hitching his wagon to Christie, whom she called "a politician embroiled in scandal."

Recently, three of Christie's former employees were indicted for a scheme to shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.

Prosecutors appeared to clear Christie of any allegations that he personally participated in the plot, but as he prepares to run for president, he will undoubtedly face questions about his relationship to his former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and his former top appointee to the bridge-control authority, Bill Baroni, both of whom have been indicted. David Wildstein, another ally, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy.

The charges also return focus to a famously bruising political style associated with Christie's administration. Charging documents unveiled Friday paint the trio as vindictive and petty bullies who plotted—and then covered up—a plan to gridlock the town of Fort Lee, N.J., to punish its Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie's 2013 re-election bid.

Christie said in a statement that the charges make it clear that he had "no knowledge or involvement in the planning or execution of this act."

He added: "The moment I first learned of this unacceptable behavior I took action, firing staff believed to be accountable, calling for an outside investigation and agreeing to fully cooperate with all appropriate investigations, which I have done."

Meruvia said in a press release that the scandal stands in contrast to Christie's claims that he is a problem-solver who can reach across the partisan divide.

"His failed leadership has driven his state's economy and finances into the ditch and left the middle class even further behind. The last thing Mississippi needs is one more crony politician. Mississippians deserve better," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.