New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called President Barack Obama to congratulate him on his re-election. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, had to settle for a condolence e-mail from the New Jersey governor, who is also a Republican.

“We didn’t have a political strategy discussion. I said, `Congratulations on your win last night, Mr. President,’ and he said, `Thank you,”’ Bloomberg said Christie told reporters on Thursday.

Christie, a darling of the right, had been lambasted in recent days for praising Obama over his response to Hurricane Sandy. Some political observers blamed the chummy moment on the outcome of the election, arguing it stymied Romney’s momentum.

Christie dismissed that idea.

“My activity with President Obama was just another chapter in the leadership I’ve tried to show in this state, which is people care more about getting things done than they care about partisanship,” he said, according to the New York Daily News. “And I’m going to continue to conduct myself that way.”

Christie has been in frequent communication with Obama since Sandy’s aftermath. Bloomberg reported the New Jersey governor offered his congratulations to the president during a Sandy-related phone call.

Christie had been a fierce critic of the president and endorsed Romney in the election, but it appears the relationship between the governor and the Republication presidential candidate has soured.

Christie blamed the Romney camp for planting a story that the governor “snubbed” Romney in the days leading up to the election, Bloomberg reported.

Christie was asked if he’s spoken to Romney since the former Massachusetts governor lost the election Tuesday.

“No; we exchanged e-mails last night,” Christie said, according to Bloomberg. “We haven’t spoken on the phone yet.”

While Christie was hoping for a Romney win, the loss opens up the possibility for the popular New Jersey governor to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Christie weighed a 2012 run but decided against it.

Political strategists said should Christie run in 2016, his interaction with Obama during Hurricane Sandy might come back to bite him in the Republican primary.

“Should Christie run for President, there will be much discussion of his role in Barack Obama’s reelection,” GOP consultant Nelson Warfield told the Daily News.

A Democrat consultant doesn’t think the hurricane will have any impact on Christie’s chances if he mounts a presidential campaign.

“I don’t think you can blame Mitt Romney’s defeat on Chris Christie making a couple of comments on Obama’s leadership during a hurricane,” the unnamed consultant told the Daily News.

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