Biden’s collection of Trump skeptics he hasn’t enlisted continues to expand

President Joe Biden has reportedly not contacted former Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie to garner the former New Jersey governor’s support, adding him to the long list of GOP Trump cynics he has failed to enlist.

Several Republican lawmakers have come forward since former President Donald Trump announced his bid for reelection, saying they would not support the former president, including a batch of his own former administration officials. Since Christie dropped out of the race in January, he considered running as an independent and was a popular No Labels pick, according to sources close to the conversations.

Yet, like many other Republican lawmakers resistant to Trump, Biden hasn’t seized the opportunity to garner support from Christie, despite Democrats insisting that Biden should be focusing on persuading Republican Trump critics.

“The thing that I would look at if I were the Biden campaign is that third of people who say, ‘No, the election was legitimate, yes, I think that President Trump would be unfit if he were convicted of a crime,’” former Obama aide David Axelrod told CNN in January.

“It seems to me among that group, there are people who might consider voting for Biden.”

Among the list of Republican politicians Biden has not recruited are Sens. Mitt Romney (UT), Bill Cassidy (LA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), and Todd Young (IN), Politico reported. Former Vice President Mike Pence as well as George W. Bush and former House Speaker Paul Ryan have not been contacted.

“It is surprising,” Collins told the outlet. “It’s especially surprising because President Biden does understand the Senate, he has personal relationships with some of us.”

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Christie has yet to give his presidential endorsement, and while he says he will not be voting for Trump, it doesn’t seem the door is completely shut on voting for Biden. Christie told NBC News last month he wanted to see all the options before he made his decision, though he said he “wasn’t there yet” when asked about supporting the Democratic incumbent in a Pod Save America discussion, according to Politico.

Christie’s potential third-party run could be a blow to Biden as it would likely attract moderate Republicans skeptical of another Trump versus Biden showdown in November, a voting bloc that Biden failed to fully capitalize on when former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley exited the race earlier this month.