Christie Officially Out of VP Contention

After months of rumors that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be tapped as the GOP vice president nomineee, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney instead .

Christie may now have the opportunity to serve as the GOP convention's keynote speaker later this month in Tampa, Fla. Being named the keynote speaker could open the door for Christie to run in 2016 and still allow him to serve a second term as governor.

“With Paul Ryan on the ticket, this is a team that understands the economic stagnation our country has been facing the last four years and the urgency with which we need to change course," Christed said in a prepared statement Saturday afternoon. "The Romney-Ryan team is uniquely positioned to make the tough choices necessary to confront our fiscal challenges and get results.”

The New Jersey governor, who in the past has stated he was not interested in the vice presidential nomination, may have ultimately lost out in the long run due to his short fuse and short record. In just the last month, Christie branded a reporter as an "idiot" in Monmouth County and confronted an unknown resident on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

Several Republicans who were in Norfolk, Va., during Romney's announcement told NJ.com that Christie needs to "tone down the smack talk" and "would have overshadowed Romney" during the campaign.

Romney's decision was lauded by New Jersey Republicans, including Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (D-11).

“I am pleased that Governor Romney has chosen one of our House leaders to be his running mate," Frelinghuysen said. "My colleague, Paul Ryan, is young, very intelligent and will be an excellent Vice President.”

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez also issued a statement, saying "four years of a  Romney-Ryan administration would be disastrous for New Jersey’s middle class."

"Mitt Romney has shown that he means business in his war against America's middle class by choosing as his running mate the architect of the budget plan that favors the nation's wealthiest people and corporations," Menendez said.

"Four years of a Romney-Ryan administration would be disastrous for New Jersey’s middle class, who have shouldered too much of the tax burden. As a result of Rep. Ryan’s proposed budget, seniors on fixed incomes would face greater hardship, as there would be an end to Medicare as we know it, and the Social Security system they spent most of their lives paying into would be privatized and subjected to the whims of the stock market. Proposed budget cuts would kill job growth and set back the fragile economic recovery. All of these would take a significant step forward to becoming reality with the election of Romney and Ryan."