Chris Christie Campaigns For Mitt Romney In Telephone Town Hall Ahead Of 2012 Michigan Primary

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in a telephone town hall with Michigan supporters on Thursday.

The 30-minute call gave voters a chance to air their grievances about Romney, who many Michigan Republicans are skeptical about despite the fact that Romney hails from their state.

"I'm a little louder and a litter brasher than he is, and maybe that's because I'm from Jersey and he's not,” Christie said, according to Mlive.com. "He's more reserved than me, but he's every bit of strong. I think he will take the strong stances that are necessary to win the election in November and when he gets to the White House, he’ll change our country."

Despite Romney's difficulty gaining momentum in Michigan, Christie said the GOP hopeful wouldn't be in trouble if he lost his home state's primary.

"It was clear he was the best of the group and the only one of the group I thought gave us a good chance of being the president," Christie said in an interview with MSNBC after the last Republican debate. "And so nothing that happened last night, or if he were to lose Michigan, would change my evaluation of that."

Others have remained optimistic about Romney's chances in the Wolverine State, including Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. No matter the outcome, Romney is prepared to carry on with his presidential bid.

The AP reports:

Losing the Michigan primary would strip the last of the varnish off the image of Mitt Romney as the inevitable GOP presidential nominee and commit him to the long march he says he's in shape for.

A victory Tuesday by rival Rick Santorum on Tuesday would be a public-relations nightmare for Romney, who was born and raised in Michigan. But Romney's campaign still would carry on with more money than any candidate and remain better organized to compete to the end.