How often will Christie be away from NJ?

Since dropping out of the presidential race Feb. 10, Gov. Christie has emerged twice in New Jersey to make public remarks: during his budget address, and at a school ribbon-cutting in Newark.

On Friday, he popped up in public again - but this time, he was back on the campaign trail, appearing in Texas to endorse Donald Trump.

Christie - who didn't take questions from reporters at the Newark event earlier this week, and left before the ceremonial ribbon was cut - said in Fort Worth that he and Trump met Thursday, and "he said, 'How about coming out on the road to Texas with me?' "

Christie spent 190 days out of state in 2015, and traveled on an additional 71 days to New York and Pennsylvania. He spent much of January and early February campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Friday's news triggered questions about how often he would be away from New Jersey.

"I hope it doesn't mean the governor is now getting on another plane traveling all over the country selling Donald Trump," said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen), a frequent critic of the governor.

"He claims he can continue governing New Jersey by Skype and cellphone," she said. "That is not possible."

Christie said at Friday's news conference that he would "lend my support" to Trump "between now and November in every way I can."

But he also said he had "every expectation" of serving out his second term as governor, which ends in January 2018.

If he were to leave his post early, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno would replace him. The next gubernatorial election is November 2017.

Christie's political team held a conference call with GOP county chairs Friday afternoon to try to keep the state's Republican leaders united, a source said. Christie's team didn't give New Jersey Republicans advance notice of his plan to endorse Trump, sources said.

The endorsement seemed to put the state GOP in a tough spot as it seeks to retain the governor's seat in 2017. Trump's immigration proposals are controversial in a blue state, and he has falsely charged that "thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated in the streets on Sept. 11, 2001. (In December, Christie said Trump's call to bar Muslims from entering the country was "ridiculous.")

At least one Republican didn't think the endorsement would hurt the state party.

Sen. Kip Bateman (R., Somerset) said, "2017 is a whole different year, a long way away."

Some in the party are going a different direction. On Friday, former Republican Gov. Christie Whitman also endorsed a 2016 presidential candidate: Ohio Gov. John Kasich.