"I'm not that familiar with the political situation on the ground here," McCain said when asked whether he would consider asking U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to stay on if McCain becomes president.

McCain deferred when pressed on whether he was familiar with Christie - a federal prosecutor appointed by President Bush - or Christie's work.

"I know it's been good," he said. "I'm certainly not familiar with the political environment here."

Christie's hiring of his one-time boss, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, for a multimillion-dollar oversight contract was the topic of a recent congressional hearing on deferred prosecution agreements.

McCain was in New Jersey speaking at the Liberty Science Center about environmental issues.

McCain's appearance in Jersey City came on the heels of a big-ticket fund-raiser in Lakewood on Thursday.

Fund-raiser host Lawrence Bathgate said the event drew more than 1,000 people at $1,000-a-plate, boosting the McCain campaign by more than $1 million.

It was McCain's second New Jersey visit in three months.

"New Jersey is in play," said his New Jersey campaign manager, state Sen. Bill Baroni.

Monmouth University Polling Director Patrick Murray said it will be an uphill climb for McCain to win New Jersey in a year with considerable Republican backlash expected at the polls.

"Everything is lining up here for either Clinton or Obama," said Murray. "It's a Democratic year nationwide, and [New Jersey is] a Democratic state because of what's going on with the economy."

A recent Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll indicated that voters here preferred Obama to Clinton, and that either Democrat would beat McCain.

McCain was flanked by Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., who introduced him as "a conservative with a conscience" on the environment.

"I'm proud of my environmental record," said McCain. The event had been planned for Sandy Hook, a barrier peninsula at the Jersey Shore, but was moved indoors to Jersey City because of the weather.

Among the priorities McCain said he would have as president: working toward a global climate change agreement that includes India and China.

New Jersey environmentalists weren't as proud of McCain's record and quickly challenged it.

"His words say one thing, his record puts him in lockstep with the Bush administration and its dismantling of environmental programs," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.