During the last debate, race came up primarily during a policing conversation near the end of the debate — not sparked by the moderators but by a comment from Gov. Christie. In this economic-focused debate, there is plenty of room to talk about race and opportunity. There’s already been a vigorous pushback against financial regulations like Dodd-Frank tonight. What about regulations on mortgage lenders, several of whom faced tens or hundreds of millions in fines for race-based inequities in lending during the mortgage crisis? And then there’s the racial wealth gap, which has persisted throughout the years. In 2013, the median wealth of a white family was $130,102, versus $64,165 for an Asian-American family, $13,900 for a Hispanic family, and $11,184 for a black family. One way for the GOP to go for a big tent — after an election that so far has bruised chances with the Latino electorate in particular — might be to address the wealth gap head-on and propose some solutions to it.
Harry Enten
I think Nate and I are on the same page. If you look at the subjective odds we did on Monday, I wasn’t exactly high on Christie. He has problems. But if you want to give Christie a better chance of winning the primary than Romney of winning the 2012 general on the eve of the election, I think he’ll take it.
Nate Silver
I don’t think I’m any more skeptical than Harry about the possibility of Christie having a “surge” at some point, or potentially becoming a factor in New Hampshire. He’s certainly having a very good night. But I’m skeptical about how sustainable it might be. Christie has lots of problems, as you’ve pointed out yourself, Harry. In fact, they’re not so different from Jeb Bush’s problems; Christie’s track record is fairly moderate, but he also has middling ratings among independent voters. And if he’s a considerably more dynamic personality than Bush, he’s also seen as a loose cannon and not as much of a party guy. I could buy an argument that Christie is as likely to win the nomination as Bush, but that’s sort of damning with faint praise.
