ken thanks wbz political analyst jon keler is this and are you surprise -- jon keller is here and are you surprised. >> reporter: as christie explained he and his wife have been close friends with the trumps for a decade and after the other failure of the restores his political relevance but he he -- this restores his political relevance. but cruz and rubio are out claiming trump is a conman out to hijack the party and drive it off a cliff. now here comes the former head of the republican governor association a man touted four years ago as major rising starwithin the gop christie is the most important republican establishment figure to endorse trump and while i think the running mate slot might make for a little too many mom bast if -- bombast if trump win christie is a major party player and they don't underestimate the amountthey crave the spotlight. >> amazing. >> charlie bake eater governor here right -- baker the christie but is not a trump fan. >> reporter: baker and christie have been allies but baker really did minimum for christie in new hampshire and the governor made it cle

jon keler is here with a closer look -- keller is here with a closer look why that is. >> reporter: as recently as was shaping up as a possible nightmare for clinton after sanders range up a blowout victory in new hampshire but in the likely democrat being primary voters are saying not so fast. on paper, massachusetts democrats seemed ready to feel the bern look what they told the wbz umass amherst poll about what candidate qualities matter they want a candidate who shares their views. and by a large margin they told us sanders was that person. but on other issues experience, strength and electability clinton dominates helping her overcome his edge on honesty and trustworthiness. >> they think they rate bernie sanders higher on that but she has a huge advantage over him in terms of how qualified is the person for being president. >> reporter: what about the issues do they matter? local democrats say matter most the economy and jobs and income inequality among others you can see how the success of the sanders campaign enforcing clinton to address his agenda may be fueling his campaign d

wbz political analyst jon keler is here and trump was none too happy. >> reporter: he was not. and look we have come to learn something about donald trump he knows a political opportunity when he sees one. keep in mind, only 13% of south carolina four years ago were catholics. and this pope's high-profile comments about immigration, income inequality and society's obligations to the poor have not endeared him to the arch conservatives who heavily populate gop primary electorate. the pope is regularly branded a communist on right wing talk radio i heard it today. and for trump this latest spat is consistent with his branding. trump fans love his "toughness" and willingness to take on anyone no mat are how unpolitically correct it may scenes my thought is it helps to consolidate his support in south carolina and the added advantage of overwhelming one of the last news cycles before saturday's pry parry vote at the very moment it appeared his competitors might be making their move. the guy is crazy like a fox david. >> not sure who is left on the list of people he hasn't taken on.

jon keler is here of course. -- keller is here of course so will anything be decided and is anything final. >> reporter: it could be the end of the line for ben carson who is running out of money and competitive in lot of states. but, keep in mind super tuesday primaries are not winner take all so even across the board trump romp won't end but it could be the beginning of the end. especially if he loses the biggest prize of all texas to ted cruz. the home state senator. now that will likely embolden cruz to stay in the race and continue splitting the antitrump vote with marco rubio. and that would almost surely seal the deal for trump as the winner take all phase of gop race kicks in on march 15th. if he walks away with the big prizes on that day, delegate rich states like florida north carolina illinois and ohio, he will have won in all regions of the country and in key swing states. and what's left of the party will then have to make a choice. keep fighting a losing battle or start thinking about november and the question of what you do now. >> and the language and weekend and so p