TRENTON -- For three years, Gov. Chris Christie has soldiered on in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge scandal. He ran for president, advised Donald Trump, signed major legislation -- all despite questions of how much he was involved in the so-called Bridgegate scheme.

Christie denied he ever was and was never charged. But now that two of his former allies were found guilty Friday after a trial that showered the New Jersey governor with unflattering accusations, some political experts wonder whether Christie's reputation has been damaged beyond repair.

"Chris Christie's response ought to be: 'Hello, private sector,'" said Matthew Hale, a political science professor at Seton Hall University. "We never say never in politics. But I would say the only person who has a worse chance of reviving a political career than Chris Christie is Anthony Weiner."

Others had a kinder view.

"The short-term effect is bad," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Still, there's no smoking gun against Chris Christie. There was testimony during the trial that Christie knew more than he let on, and he will have to fight against that in the context of a guilty verdict."

"But if he doesn't get indicted himself or impeached, he might be able to get out from under this," Murray concluded.

The former allies -- Bill Baroni, an ex-Port Authority executive, and Bridget Ann Kelly, the governor's ex-deputy chief of staff -- were convicted on all charges of scheming to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge in a case of political payback in 2013.

Christie was never called to the witness stand. But another former ally, ex-Port Authority Executive David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty, said he told the governor of the traffic problems the plot caused in Fort Lee as they were going on. That contradicts what Christie has long said: that he did not have knowledge of the closings until well after they happened.

Murray said his polling shows a majority of New Jerseyans believe Christie was involved in "some shape or form," and what came out of the trial likely "confirms their suspicions."

Added Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University: "The convictions of Kelly and Baroni serve essentially as convictions of the Christie administration, and in particular, an indictment of Christie himself."

State Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union) dismisses that idea, stressing that federal prosecutors never found evidence to back up accusations against Christie.

"I would like to know: Where is the smoking gun against Chris Christie?" asked Bramnick, one of Christie's closest allies in the state Legislature. "It's innuendo, it's inconsistent testimony."

Less than hour after the verdict, Christie released a statement, again stating that he knew nothing of the closings.

"Let me be clear once again, I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them," he said. "No believable evidence was presented to contradict that fact. Anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue."

The defendants are also expected to appeal the case.

Still, details about the way Christie allegedly has run his office also came to light in testimony. Kelly even accused him of having thrown a water bottle at her when he was displeased with how she was planning an event.

"What this trial has done is pull back the curtain on how the Christie administration did business," said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. "And that's gonna be part of his legacy as much as any legislative accomplishment."

It was just a few years ago that Christie was enjoying high points in his career. His approval rating was in the 70s in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. He was re-elected in a landslide in 2013. And Time magazine wondered if he was the future of the Republican Party.

But today, his approval ratings have reached record lows -- in the low 20s. He saw his presidential hopes fizzle. He has drawn some derision after endorsing Trump and becoming the leader of Trump's presidential transition team.

Now, the state lawmakers who led a legislative investigation into Bridgegate want to reopen their probe in the wake of the verdict. Plus, an appeal would cause the issue to be dragged out in public again.

And a judge in Bergen County last month ruled that a complaint filed by a private citizen accusing Christie of official misconduct in the bridge scandal can move forward. Christie is slated to appear in court later in the month. But it's now up to the county prosecutor to decide whether to prosecute the governor.

There has also been talk that the Democrats who lead New Jersey's legislature could impeach Christie if they believed he lied about his role in the bridge plot.

Any such move would have to originate in the Assembly, the Legislature's lower house. Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) did not return a message seeking comment.

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) said impeaching Christie "would be challenging" -- and unlikely.

"It comes down to: What did the governor know and when?" Greenwald said. "The U.S. attorney's office made a determination not to charge him."

Dworkin said the bigger fallout in New Jersey may be that the verdict makes Christie "even weaker than he currently is, politically speaking."

"He still has all the levers of power being governor," Dworkin said. "But these verdicts only make it less likely the issues facing New Jersey will be address before he leaves."

One hope for the governor may be Trump. If the Republican nominee is elected, there's a chance Christie could be appointed to his cabinet -- though experts say the verdict makes that less likely now. And if Trump loses, they say, it's likely Christie would go into the private sector for a couple of years.

Regardless, some say there's still a chance of Christie making another bid at the White House, in 2020 or 2024.

"A week is a lifetime in politics, and we've got four years," Dworkin said. "There are loads of times to come back."

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, agrees.

"If he wants to run, he'll run," the Virginia professor said. "His efforts to cultivate Trump this year might pay off with some of the Trump base, but he'll have competition from Mike Pence and possibly others. ... Christie will still have all the same problems he had in the 2016 cycle."

Bramnick added that Bridgegate should not overshadow Christie's accomplishments over the last seven years, such as passing a 2 percent property tax cap, as well as pension and bail reform.

But, he noted, Christie's legacy "depends on who writes it."

"If you write it objectively, you'll find someone who came to Trenton and made the most significant changes of the last 25 years," Bramnick said. "If you write about it in a partisan fashion, you're going to focus on the things that went wrong."

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.