Astorino is polling nearly 40 points behind Cuomo. | Getty/AP Photo Astorino blasts Christie over RGA

The Republican running against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted Chris Christie on Tuesday for dismissing his race as a lost cause — and suggested the two Northeastern governors are in cahoots as they deal with the fallout over the Bridgegate scandal.

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino made the comments at a news conference in Manhattan, which fell a day after Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said he doesn’t invest in “landslides” or “lost causes.”


Astorino said that if the New Jersey governor “is unable to help a Republican candidate for governor, then maybe he should consider stepping down as chairman of the RGA. That’s his job.”

He added, according to the New York Daily News, “Maybe it’s inconvenient to come over the bridge to New York to help a Republican candidate for governor here. That’s his call, whether he wants to or not, but as RGA chair he has governors and candidates who have a chance to win … and it’s incumbent upon him to help all of us.”

( Also on POLITICO: Christie on Astorino: RGA won’t 'invest in lost causes')

Christie’s comments came Monday as he campaigned with and raised money for Connecticut GOP gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley. The remarks overshadowed the event with Foley and served as a reminder that the Bridgegate scandal could continue to be used by critics as a political cudgel as he tries to turn his attention forward.

Investigations into the traffic-lane scandal have so far yielded smoke but no proof of Christie’s involvement. Christie has denied any prior knowledge of the scheme and dismissed two advisers connected to it.

Christie’s comments also generated a fresh round of negative headlines for the RGA chairman as he has tried repairing relationships with fellow Republicans who were angered by his warm words about President Barack Obama during the 2012 election.

Astorino, who is polling nearly 40 points behind Cuomo, twisted the knife, suggesting that the two governors — who together help run the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — might be protecting one another over Bridgegate.

( Also on POLITICO: Poll: Andrew Cuomo far ahead of Rob Astorino)

“I don’t know if there’s a connection between him and Andrew Cuomo on Bridgegate, or if Cuomo has something that he’s holding back, information that could be damaging to the governor,” Astorino said.

“Whatever Gov. Christie knew or didn’t know is probably the same for Gov. Cuomo. And if there’s anything being held back that Gov. Cuomo knows and if he’s holding that over Gov. Christie’s head, I don’t know,” Astorino added.

David Paterson, the former New York governor and current state Democratic Party chairman, put out a statement slamming Astorino.

“I read Rob Astorino’s quotes calling for Governor Christie to step down from the RGA, and alleging a cover up on Bridgegate as a reason for Christie’s lack of support for Astorino,” Paterson said. “That is a reckless, irresponsible accusation to make with no basis whatsoever, and not fitting for a qualified Gubernatorial candidate. Maybe that’s why his candidacy is not being taken seriously.”

( QUIZ: How well do you know Chris Christie?)

Republicans like former New York Sen. Al D’Amato, who is close with Cuomo, called on Astorino to apologize.

But some conservative elites, who had long been a key Christie constituency prior to his embrace of Obama after Hurricane Sandy, denounced his remarks.

“Is Christie intimidated by Cuomo?” Weekly Standard writer William Kristol wrote in an email. “Christie is head of the RGA. He’s supposed to support Republican gubernatorial candidates. And Astorino is an impressive one.”

National Review writer Reihan Salam tweeted: “Disappointed in @GovChristie — loyalty matters.”