Senator Ted Cruz. Governor Chris Christie.

Neither man lacks for confidence. Or ambition. Both are fighting for a shot to take on the Democratic challenger in the 2016 presidential race.

And both had widely talked about moments during the CNBC debate that came via their attacks on the media.

This week, NJPR’s Matt Katz and special guest Ben Philpott from KUT’s The Ticket 2016 podcast, join us for an in-depth look at two forceful candidates who have been struggling to be heard in a crowded primary.

They represent two different strands of the Republican Party. And stylistically, they couldn’t be further apart. Ted likes Star Wars. Christie? Springsteen. The Gov rarely talks about faith. The Senator brings religion front-and-center. Ben Philpott says Cruz is “always on” and “doesn’t come off as a guy you’d want to go to a bar with,” while Christie, according to Katz, “can seem like the guy next to you at the airport bar.”

Speaking with host David Furst, Ben and Matt consider who might be best-positioned to pick up votes if the front-runners begin to falter.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

52 times the New Jersey legislature attempted to override a Christie veto.

52 times it ended in failure, with nearly every Republican legislator voting against an override.

But streaks are meant to be broken. And this time things were different.

NJPR’s Matt Katz and Bergen Record columnist Charles Stile join us to consider what this moment means for New Jersey.

Also:

The New York Times editorial board called Christie’s comments about the Black Lives Matter movement “racially poisonous.” And much has been said about the extreme statements he made about the movement and President Obama on CBS’s Face the Nation this weekend. But what about his assertion that he’s the law and order candidate – and, by extension, the one that cares most about police?

John Reitmeyer with NJ Spotlight joins host David Furst to discuss the governor’s relationship with cops in New Jersey.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

Is the campaign money bag half full or half empty? Or wait, maybe the bag is just way too small.

Reaction to the first fundraising reports from Governor Christie's presidential campaign varied. Christie's team said they were pleased about how much money they had. Pundits called it a disappointing haul. NJPR's Matt Katz says "It's what you would expect from someone who is now clearly a second-tier candidate." This week, Matt joins host David Furst to assess the state of the finances.

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We address reports of dwindling support for Governor Christie’s presidential campaign among New Jersey Republicans with State Assembly Minority Leader, Jon Bramnick. Plus, we ask about his side career as a stand-up comic - not the safest gig for a politician on the eve of a general election. But, Bramnick notes, "all comedy is a risky proposition."

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

To understand Chris Christie you need to consider his Bruce Springsteen obsession.

Come on, the man has been to over 130 Bruce shows.

This week, the Christie Tracker Podcast looks at Christie, the Springsteen super fan – who follows Bruce to shows, writes about him on message boards and trades tapes with fellow fans.

New Jersey Public Radio’s Matt Katz guides us through Christie’s life of worship at the Church of Springsteen and explains why messages posted 15 years ago shed light on the governor’s personality today. We ponder how Christie could be so attracted to the musical messages of a political polar opposite. And speaking with host David Furst, Matt explains why he finds the old posts endearing.

As he puts it, ‘This is a total geek, geeking out with other geeks.’

Also:

Christie was back in the state with the country’s first primary last week. He held several town hall meetings in New Hampshire and some polls suggest he may be starting to gain a little traction there.

Scott Conroy, Senior Political Reporter with the Huffington Post joins us to wrap up the week.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

It’s enough to make a guy want to spend some quality campaign time in New Hampshire.

Governor Christie spent much of last week preparing for a natural disaster. But as Joaquin headed out to sea, the governor was stuck at a storm press conference in south Jersey – trying to avoid questions about a resigning cabinet member. Departing Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox had been the subject of multiple news reports linking him to both the Bridgegate and the Chairman’s Flight scandals.

So a week that was meant to showcase leadership during a crisis ended with Fox’s resignation in what has become a tradition for the Christie Administration -- the Friday 5 p.m. news dump.

NJPR’s Matt Katz joins host David Furst for a recap. Describing the governor’s carefully orchestrated Joaquin press conferences, Matt says “This was a potential moment for him and he wasn’t going to let it pass by.”

Also:

Christie replaced the two top attorneys in the governor’s office with an expert on electronic data collection and an authority on political corruption. We look at what may be behind these moves. And - Matt presents his list of Governor Christie’s Top Seven Friday Afternoon News Dumps.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

Jamie Fox. Christie cabinet member, former United Airlines lobbyist, long-time New Jersey political operative.

Oh, and a guy with connections to both the Bridgegate and the Chairman's Flight scandals.

NJPR’s Matt Katz joins host David Furst to talk about his reporting on a man who has somehow avoided the scrutiny of legislators investigating Bridgegate. Fox worked for three out of the last four Democratic governors. He’s currently Christie’s transportation commissioner. Matt says even though he is “linked to two of the most notorious scandals to hit the administration,” Republicans AND Democrats in New Jersey seem to leave Fox alone.

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Governor Christie was left for dead in the Hawkeye State, with polling numbers placing him near the back of the pack. This week, he picked up big endorsements from Iowa business leaders and was back in the state for another town hall event.

On one hand, the endorsements carry a lot of symbolic power. They come from a group that tried to recruit him to run for president in 2012 but, until now, shied away from supporting Christie this time. Joel Aschbrenner, reporter with The Des Moines Register, joins us to assess what value these endorsements have for the average voter.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

After a few weeks as "The Law and Order Guy" and "That Guy Who Wants to Use FedEx to Track Immigrants," Governor Christie is shape-shifting again. This time, he's the Common Man of the People and Defender of the Middle Class.

NJPR's Matt Katz and the Star-Ledger's Tom Moran join host David Furst to discuss the latest message from the campaign trail, and how this one might actually work better. 

We'll also explain what Governor Christie has done to weaken the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission and how it all may be part of a plan to help out his best Democrat bud, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo.

Also this week:

Cronyism in the New Jersey National Guard. Widespread discontent among the ranks and charges of racism. Add to that, the detail that Christie has given the overweight head of the NJ National Guard 90 days to slim down and "meet his obligations."

Washington Post Reporter, Craig Whitlock joins us to discuss how the guard has become "dysfunctional" under Governor Christie. Whitlock says, "I've covered the military at a national level for several years... and I've never seen an instance where you have such a high percentage of the... senior command staff filing complaints."

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

The scrapheap of officials laid to waste by Bridgegate and its spin-off scandals expanded last week to include three United Airlines executives.

United says the resignations are related to the investigation into the airline’s dealings with the Port Authority – and with former Port Authority Chair, David Samson, an appointee and close confidante of Governor Christie. Samson is under investigation for getting favors from the airline in exchange for lower costs for United at the Port Authority owned airport in Newark.  One of the favors was the so-called "Chairman's Flight," a special flight route from Newark to South Carolina allegedly created at the request of Samson.

Governor Christie spoke about the story on NBC’s Meet the Press and on his monthly radio call-in show, Ask The Governor. His advice: "Let's stop reading newspapers."

On the podcast this week: grab a scuba mask, bring along an extra tank of oxygen and join us for a deep dive into what the governor is saying about the allegations, and what he is not saying. 

Don't worry. It'll be easy to follow along. Host David Furst is joined by Matt Katz who covers Governor Christie for WNYC and NJPR and by Andrea Bernstein, Senior Editor for Politics & Policy for WNYC News. Andrea says “What’s being investigated here is bribery, pure and simple. Quid pro quo.” 

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why Governor Christie’s presidential campaign hasn’t caught fire. But his decline in the polls started with a traffic jam back on September 9th, 2013.

Two years later, we consider what we still don't know about Bridgegate. 

Host David Furst is joined by Andrea Bernstein, Senior Editor for Politics & Policy for WNYC News and Tom Moran, Editorial Page Editor for The Star-Ledger. Here's the scenario. The governor has been given a healthy dose of truth serum. And he's granted Andrea and Tom a no-holds-barred interview. Andrea says it all starts with her most obvious question for the governor; “What did you know and when did you know it?”

Meanwhile, United Airline’s CEO Jeff Smisek and two vice presidents resigned this week. United says the move was connected with the company’s internal investigation into its dealings with the Port Authority - and former Chair, and Christie appointee, David Samson. The U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is looking into whether the airline provided a special flight route, known as the "chairman's flight" for Samson in exchange for fee reductions and other benefits.

Plus:

It's been five years since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Oprah! with Chris Christie and Cory Booker to announce a $100 million gift to Newark schools.  Reporter Dale Russakoff picks through the pieces of this fascinating recent history in her new book, "The Prize - Who's In Charge of America's Schools?"

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.

The summer of 2013. It doesn’t seem that distant. But it might as well be a political lifetime ago for Chris Christie.

This was post-Sandy and pre-Bridgegate. The governor was soaring in the polls and coasting to reelection.

Today? According to New Jersey Public Radio’s Matt Katz, the guy who never had a hard time getting attention is fighting for crumbs from the national press. He says, “It seems like this magic he had to make headlines, to cut through the noise, is lost.”

Matt joins us for a sobering comparison between summer ’13 and summer ’15 – including a moment this week when Donald Trump out-Christied Christie in his own backyard.

Also this week:

When you’re down in the polls it’s good to have a supporter like Angel Cordero in your corner.

The Camden activist might be best known for his unabashed Gov-love. You may have seen him before. He was that super-enthusiastic guy in the bleachers during Christie’s presidential announcement in Livingston. And he joins host David Furst this week on the Christie Tracker Podcast.

Activist Angel Cordero is among the Christie faithful.

Check out the WNYC Data News App: The Christie Tracker.