New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to return to Iowa again today.

Chris Christie in Iowa
DES MOINES, IA - JANUARY 24: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Scott Olson, Getty Images)
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This will mark the governor's sixth trip to the Hawkeye State since 2014, the year he was chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

Christie is scheduled to headline the Dallas County Spring Speaker Series at the West Des Moines Marriott.

According to one New Jersey political expert, only those politicians with aspirations for the highest office in the country would go to Iowa in the middle of the winter.

"Iowa in February is not the kind of place where you're going to take your family for a little rest and relaxation. The only time you go out there is if you're campaigning for president and the importance of Iowa is that it sort of sorts out the top-tier candidates," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The governor was last in Iowa on Jan. 24, when he spoke at the Iowa Freedom Summit hosted by conservative U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA). The summit, which brought together a dozen possible Republican presidential candidates,  is referred to by some as the unofficial start of the campaign for the Iowa caucuses.

Christie said after his speech that he could win in Iowa.

"The governor knows how much is at stake on Iowa. That's why he's made some very strong relationships there. You have to come in, say in the top four places in Iowa (the caucuses) in order to move on in the process," Murray said.

As RGA chairman, Christie campaigned and raised funds for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad who won his sixth term last November. Christie attended Brandstad's inaugural on Jan. 16.

"Christie has a relationship there with Rep. Steve King who commands a lot of respect from the conservative wing of the party and he also has a very good relationship with the governor of Iowa," Murray said. "Those are relationships that he hopes to build, that he can cobble together enough to support to show that he's in the top tier heading into places like New Hampshire and South Carolina."

 

 

 

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