Chris Christie on presidential race: Relax and calm down

Chris Christie has a message for those people who might be concerned that Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney are outpacing him in the quick start to the 2016 presidential race.

"What I've told everybody — supporters of mine, potential donors of mine, staff — is relax. You know, no one's voting for another 12 1/2 months," Christie said Thursday during his monthly "Ask the Governor" radio show. "Everybody just calm down, you know?"

As for Bush and Romney — who would compete with the New Jersey governor for support within the Republican establishment and business community — Christie said he's not going to allow others to "dictate to me my time frame" or "determine what I do."

Christie's comments Thursday on New Jersey 105.5 FM are perhaps his most public to date about seeking the White House.

He didn't give any specifics about creating a political action committee to fund his travels, as Jeb Bush has already done.  A person close to Christie with knowledge of his plans told Paste BN earlier this week that the governor could announce his finance team as early as this month.

"Listen, there's lots of people making lots of suggestions to me about the best way for me to get to continue to get to know the country better and to get input from people around the country about both me and those folks around me," Christie said on the radio program. "So there's a whole bunch of different options on the table, but I haven't made any final decisions about what to do."

Christie is said to have told South Carolina Republicans that he won't make any announcements until after Jan. 21, according to Bloomberg Politics.

The significance of that date? That's when Christie attends the inauguration of Larry Hogan in Maryland -- one of the candidates he assisted as chairman of the Republican Governors Association -- and the last swearing-in ceremony of the season.