If being named of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world weren’t enough, Gov. Chris Christie is also being called by a prominent political observer a “first tier” contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. The New Jersey Republican is joined in the first tier by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The rankings were put together by Larry Sabato, head of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and two cowriters for the Sabato’s Crystal Ball blog.