EWING, N.J. — They call to complain about their pension payments, to grumble about their children’s teachers, to vent about the fine they just paid for stacking firewood incorrectly. They dial in by the thousands, from Toms River to Park Ridge, jamming the five phone lines here at the studio of WKXW-FM (101.5).

What the people of New Jersey receive in return is the unfiltered id of their governor, Chris Christie: over-sharing, thin-skinned, openhearted and needy. It is the quality, repellent or endearing, that his supporters say is missing from the buttoned-up rivals now crowding the Republican presidential field, whose demeanor they quietly dismiss as too stilted (Mitt Romney) or too cerebral (Jeb Bush).

When Chris from Camden, wanted to know why the governor was giving firefighters like himself such a hard time about their salaries, Mr. Christie turned the conversation into a scorching interrogation. “What are you making now?” the governor demanded. The answer, $72,000, struck him as suspiciously low, given the contractual perks afforded firefighters. “No, no, no, Chris. Don’t play games me with me now. What do you make?”

When Debbie in Roxbury called to congratulate Mr. Christie on a budget address in which he had pledged no new taxes, Mr. Christie paused to gloat about the superiority of his speechwriting skills, concluding that they surpassed those of the first President George Bush. “Much better than ‘Read my lips,’ ” he said. “I’m sorry. It’s just much better.”