Christie Bush.jpg

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (left) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could face off for the Republican nomination for president.

(File photos)

TRENTON — Chris Christie and Jeb Bush — who could battle for the 2016 Republican nomination for president — are both east coast governors from purple states. But they also have significant differences:

TOP JOB

Christie: Two-term governor New Jersey, 2010-present

Bush: Two term governor of Florida, 1999-2007

AGE

Christie: 52

Bush: 61

CONNECTION TO THE BUSH FAMILY

Christie: Was a top fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign; was selected by Bush as New Jersey's U.S. Attorney in 2001

Bush: Grandson of former U.S. Sen. Prescott Bush of Connecticut; son of former President George H.W. Bush; younger brother of former President George W. Bush

HEIGHT

Christie: 5-foot-11

Bush: 6-foot-4

FAMILY

Christie: Wife Mary Pat; four children

Bush: Wife Columba Garnica; three children

EDUCATION

Christie: B.A. from University of Delaware, 1984; law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, 1987

Bush: B.A. from University of Texas, 1973

RELIGION

Christie: Roman Catholic

Bush: Episcopalian (until 1995); Roman Catholic (since 1995)

MINORITY APPEAL

Christie: In his second term, Christie carried nearly half of the Latino vote (48 percent) compared with slightly less than a third of it in 2009, and 20 percent of the black vote, more than double the 9 percent he scored in his first election.

Bush: In his first term, Bush garnered 61 percent of the Hispanic vote and 14 percent of the African-American vote. In his second term, however, he won almost two-thirds of the Hispanic vote in his re-election campaign but dropped to 8 percent of the African American vote.

MEDICAL ISSUES

Christie: Secretly had gastric-band surgery in February 2013. Is thought to have lost at least 85 lbs. since then.

Bush: Had knee surgery in April 2014, and also recently hired personal trainer and lost 15 lbs. to reduce the stress on his knee.

EDUCATION POLICIES

Christie: Has punted on the issue of Common Core thus far, but over summer, issued an executive order creating a handpicked commission to study and issue recommendations by 2015 on the effectiveness of the assessments tied to the standards. The final report will be issued by July 31, 2015.

Bush: Has spent most of his post-gubernatorial life advocating for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which attempts to create a universal set of standards and teaching curricula for students K-12.

TEA PARTY CONNECTION?

Christie: Viewed negatively by Tea Partiers — 46 percent unfavorable to 27 favorable. Christie is the only candidate tested in a recent Monmouth / APP poll with an "upside down" rating among Tea Party-aligned Republicans.

Bush: Tea Party supporters are almost evenly divided on Bush — 39 percent positive to 38 percent negative.

NEW JERSEY VS. FLORIDA

Population

NJ: 8,899,339 (11th in the nation)

FL: 19,552,860 (4th)

Size

NJ: 8,722.58 square milers (47th in the nation)

FL: 65,755 square miles (22nd)

Capital

NJ: Trenton

FL: Tallahassee

Musician

NJ: Bruce Springsteen (raised in Freehold)

FL: Tom Petty (raised in Gainesville)

Actor

NJ: Bruce Willis (raised in Carneys Point)

FL: Mickey Rourke (raised in Miami)

Actress

NJ: Meryl Streep (raised in Bernardsville)

FL: Faye Dunaway (raised in Bascom)

Writer

NJ: Philip Roth (raised in Newark)

FL: Dave Barry (worked in Miami)

Athlete

NJ: Carl Lewis (raised in Willingboro)

FL: Vince Carter (raised in Daytona)

Food

NJ: Jersey tomato

FL: Florida orange

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @claudebrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.