Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and two-time unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is teaching a course titled “How to Run a Political Campaign” at the Jackson School of Global Affairs this semester.

The seminar will examine political communications, fundraising and leadership with “direct input” from actors across various roles and government levels “who have firsthand experience running political campaigns,” according to the course syllabus. Students will also have the opportunity to write mock campaign memos and engage in simulated debates against Christie, who will act as various presidential candidates such as former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and himself.

“I am deeply grateful to the Jackson School leadership for inviting Governor Christie and giving us the opportunity to learn from practitioners in the field,” Tetiana Kotelnykova GRD ’25 wrote to the News. “He provides us with insights into real-world politics, which is something we can’t get from textbooks alone. It’s rare to have someone who shares honestly about politics in interviews.”

Some of the class discussions will draw on Christie’s personal experiences in debates, with the syllabus linking a YouTube video of a December 2023 debate between Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy LAW ’13 and another video titled “Chris Christie takes down Marco Rubio” from February 2016 as optional course materials. According to the syllabus, the course will also reference a variety of media ranging from films to leaked campaign memos on both Democratic and Republican political candidates.

Christie did not immediately respond to the News’ request for comment regarding the course.

Christie was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush ’68. Christie later served as the governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. 

Christie has also vied for the Republican presidential nomination. He launched his first presidential campaign in January 2015 but dropped out of the 2016 Republican primaries after receiving under 7 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire Republican primary. 

After providing support to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, Christie launched another campaign for the 2024 presidential election. In January 2024, he once again dropped out of the race following low poll numbers in the New Hampshire primary at 11.6 percent, compared to Nikki Haley’s 29.9 percent and Trump’s 42.4 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The course was conceived after Christie gave a talk at the Jackson School in April 2024, according to James Levinsohn, dean of the Jackson School of Global Affairs.

“It was a fantastic talk and in conversation, I asked him if he might be interested in teaching a seminar here at some point,” Levinsohn wrote to the News. “One thing led to another and here we are — first day of classes and Gov. Christie is downstairs as I write this.”

The course, which is aimed toward undergraduate students but is also open to graduate students at the Jackson School, was met with high demand. In addition to the 15 students enrolled in the course, 30 more students are listed on the course’s Canvas page as visitors, according to the Course Demand Statistics site as of Monday. 

“I may be registered on Canvas as a visitor — but I am a visitor who cannot visit,” Zach Pan ’27, who tried to register for the course, wrote to the News. “Me and the 20 or so students who tried to shop the class on Friday were informed that only registered students could attend. This is quite understandable, however, in light of Christie’s high profile.”

Despite Pan’s waitlisted status, he wrote that he will still try to visit Christie’s office hours and take advantage of Christie’s time on Yale’s campus. 

The syllabus specified that students interested in the course had to submit a 150–200 word statement about their background, interest, “potential contributions to the class and how the course will benefit their future career” to Christie and his course assistants by Aug. 28. 

Kotelnykova, who is from Ukraine and has experienced two periods of war in her home country — first when her hometown of Horlivka was occupied by pro-Russian separatists at the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 and then again during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — was initially worried that her non-American background would detract from her chances of being able to enroll in the class. She speculates, however, that sharing “such a personal and painful” part of her life persuaded Christie to select her for the course.

“I am incredibly grateful to former Governor Christie because sharing such a personal and painful part of my life has led to this opportunity to learn from him,” Kotelnykova wrote. “I believe this speaks volumes about former Governor Christie as a person—it shows that he cares about global issues. The selection process for this class was unique, and Governor Christie mentioned that the choice of students was deliberate; he personally selected each one of us. He likely focused on who we are as individuals and the impact we aspire to make.”

According to Levinsohn, he and Christie have not yet discussed any plans to offer the course again in future semesters. However, there may still be hope for students who seek to interact with Christie outside of the class.

“I’ll be working with the Governor’s office to see if his calendar might permit another talk open to all students here this Fall,” Levinsohn wrote. “We’re thrilled to have Gov. Christie at Jackson and it’d be great if we can host some more events. Stay tuned.”

In the meantime, though, outsiders will likely have a difficult time gaining access to the conversations that take place in the seminar, as the syllabus makes multiple stipulations regarding confidentiality. The syllabus states that all discussions “shall be conducted under Chatham House rules,” meaning participants are allowed to reference information from conversations but cannot reveal who made a particular statement. The syllabus also specifies that “all comments by guest speakers are off the record,” and students may not record or cite them without written consent. 

The 2024 U.S. presidential election will take place on ⁦Tuesday, Nov. 5.