N.J. governor to be keynote speaker at GOP convention

Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, will take his blunt, everyman style of politics to a primetime stage as the keynote speaker of the Republican National Convention, officials announced Tuesday.

Christie, who briefly considered running for president himself last year, will deliver one of the most closely watched speeches of the week. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a rising Republican star who had been considered as a vice-presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, will introduce Romney at the convention, which starts on Aug. 27 in Tampa, Fla.

By selecting Christie and Rubio, the party is showcasing two of its most popular leaders in the hope of appealing to independent and Latino voters. as a pickup opportunity as they try to gain majority control from the Democrats. The GOP needs to net four seats to wrest control of the Senate in November

In Connecticut, wealthy former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, the GOP’s endorsed candidate, defeated former representative Christopher Shays in the Senate primary. Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, is retiring.

In Connecticut’s Democratic Senate primary, Rep. Chris Murphy, who was the party’s endorsed candidate, beat former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz. Looking past Shays, McMahon has already aired an attack ad against Murphy.