No time for beer, Christie heads to Vegas for fundraising with casino billionaire

For Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), raising money trumps drinking beer. 

{mosads}Christie, who on Wednesday snubbed Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) offer to settle their feud over some suds,  is fundraising Thursday at a private event held by billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

News of Christie’s Vegas jaunt comes after the New Jersey governor said he didn’t have time to travel to Washington to share a drink with Paul because he was too busy. 

The Kentucky senator told Fox News on Wednesday that “anytime [Christie] would like to come down and sit down at the pub right around the corner from the Senate we’ll have a beer.”

“I don’t really have time for that at the moment. I’m running for reelection,” Christie replied on Wednesday night.

Christie faces New Jersey voters in November in his bid for a second term as governor. 

But many Republicans believe Christie is also preparing for a 2016 White House bid. The event with Adelson, one of 2012’s top Republican donors, in an early caucus state, is likely to fuel rather than dampen those rumors.

Christie is heavily favored to win this fall’s gubernatorial race. Every poll of the race has shown him holding a strong lead over Democratic opponent Barbara Buono.

Adelson spent at least $98 million on the 2012 election, initially to back Newt Gingrich’s ill-fated run. 

He did not, however, host a fundraiser for Paul when the senator visited the state last month.

Paul and Christie are considered top contenders for the GOP nomination in 2016, and both are vying for support from different wings of the party. Their spat this past weekend began when Christie criticized the “strain of libertarianism” in the GOP as “dangerous.”

Paul defended libertarianism and hit back on Christie’s request for government funds to help New Jersey rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, calling the governor “king of bacon,” a commented read by some as personal, as Christie has been in the spotlight previously for his weight.

Paul brought the conflict to a close on Wednesday, suggesting, for the good of the party, the two end the fight.