Chris Christie stays coy over 2016 presidential ambitions

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie avoided speculation about higher office. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

A landslide victory in New Jersey, one of the most liberal states in the country, has propelled Chris Christie to the front ranks of Republican presidential hopefuls for 2016. On Sunday, the governor attempted to dismiss speculation that he was gearing up for the role – for now.

"What I'm interested in doing is being the governor of New Jersey," Christie said on Fox News Sunday, one of four of the main talkshows on which he appeared, excepting only CNN's State of the Union. "The fact is we've got a lot of things to do, a lot of things to focus on, and I know everybody's going to be speculating on what may come on my future and lots of other people's future in our party.

"But the fact is: I'm focused on being the governor of New Jersey and being the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. I think those two jobs will keep me pretty busy over the next year."

However, earlier, on ABC News' This Week, Christie said he didn't know whether he would be completing the full four years of his second term.

"Listen, who knows," Christie said. "I don't know. I'm going to continue to do my job and finish the job. But everybody who is trying to figure out what life is going to bring you a few years from now, I didn't expect to be sitting here four years ago. So, nobody can make those predictions."

Christie, who beat Democratic nominee Barbara Buono with 51% of the Hispanic vote, refused to call on Washington lawmakers to include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He has previously supported citizenship and in-state tuition for undocumented students, a position that put him at odds with the GOP base.

The governor twice side-stepped the question from host George Stephanopoulos, and would only say that the current immigration system was "broken" and had to be reformed.

"It has to be figured out by those in charge of the national government," he said. "My job is to fix what's going on in New Jersey. I will tell you this, George, we won't be able to fix everything in New Jersey until the national leaders set a national immigration policy."

Asked again about a path to citizenship, he said: "George, I don't get to make those determinations. It's 2013, i just got elected the governor of New Jersey again. I have already said what I believe. It's a broken system and it needs to be fixed. Let's get to work doing it."

On Face the Nation, on CBS, Christie took a similar tack in answer to requests for his opinion, as a potential presidential candidate, on the breakdown of nuclear talks with Iran. "I'm the governor of New Jersey," he said. "When guys like me start to shoot off on stuff like this it's really ill-advised. I'll leave it to secretary [John] Kerry and the folks that are in charge of this to make decisions.

"Folks in my sort of position that spout off opinions on things like this off the top of their head just wind up doing more harm than good."

Christie won in New Jersey with 66% of the independent vote, 32% of Democrats, 51% of Hispanics and 21% of the African-American vote. His re-election has sparked much debate over what it means for Republican strategy, as well as his own prospects in 2016. In interviews on Sunday, he repeatedly stressed his willingness to work with opposing points of view, telling CBS: "Look at New Jersey – we're not using divided government as an excuse not to act. We get together, we argue, we fight, we debate but then we conclude the argument by getting together round a table and getting things done."

However, critics are quick to point out Christie's ideological differences from the conservative Republican base which could prove problematic in any run for the presidency. As well as his previous support of a path to citizenship, he also supports gun control.

Other issues for Christie should he run in 2016 were also touched on in his interviews. He criticised claims about him in a new book, Double Down: Game Change 2012, for being part of a Washington "parlour game". The book, written by Time's Mark Halperin and New York Magazine's John Heilemann, alleges that he was not selected by Mitt Romney as a vice-presidential running mate in 2012 because of concerns that emerged during the vetting process. On Fox News Sunday, Christie said:

"The only person who hasn't said that is Governor Romney, who has completely refuted what they said in the book. He did it immediately after the book came out."

Texas governor Rick Perry. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP

On Sunday, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, took a jab at the Christie, questioning whether his 22-point victory in New Jersey had any wider meaning for the Republican Party.

"Is a conservative in New Jersey a conservative in the rest of the country?" Perry said in an interview with This Week that was aired after Christie's. "We'll have that discussion at the appropriate time."

Perry, whose presidential bid in 2012 ended after a series of gaffes, did not rule out running again in 2016. "Second chances are what America has always been about," he said.