Could Gov. Chris Christie's entanglement in the recent Bridgegate controversy keep former campaign contributors from opening their wallets to help his cause? Political analysts say the situation could show the governor who his true friends are.

Gov. Chris Christie
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Gov. Chris Christie's re-election campaign can raise new money to help pay for lawyers responding to subpoenas, issued by a legislative committee and the U.S. Attorney, investigating the unannounced George Washington Bridge access lane closures that snarled traffic in Fort Lee. The scandal, known as Bridgegate, has caused Christie's poll numbers and popularity to drop significantly. Will the donors who once revered him be likely to help his cause now that he's embroiled in controversy?

"Politics is a game of fair weather friends," said Fairleigh Dickinson University political science professor Peter Woolley. "It's not really about giving the money. People have the money. It's a question of, who really thinks that Christie will continue to have influence and who thinks that he's done?"

You never really know who your true friends are in politics, Woolley said, but who ends up donating to Christie's cause will tell a lot about what people actually think of his political future.

"Who thinks that he'll have live presidential ambitions and who thinks that those ambitions are over?" asked Woolley.

He said the answers to those questions will be very telling, but there are other questions.

"Who is not afraid to be associated with the governor in public, and who is afraid that he might be tarred with the same brush?"

All politicians have long memories and they know who steps up to the plate when needed and who doesn't, according to Woolley. He added that Christie should also know the people who donate money are making a bet that he's going to survive the Bridgegate scandal.

Private donors can contribute a maximum $3,800 to the campaign.

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