Christie’s job creation strategy for New Jersey this year included $180 million in targeted tax cuts for small businesses and reforms to corporate business taxes. He also lowered the cap on property taxes.
Perry's first order of business would be to repeal "Obamacare," then "start over" by freeing states of federal mandates and giving local governments more control over Medicaid and other social programs. Texas has been good fodder for Democrats: It has country's highest rate of uninsured individuals.
Romney believes states should implement their own health care plans, like Massachusetts did when he was governor. Though his state's individual mandate has drawn comparisons to "Obamacare," 98 percent of Massachusetts residents now have health insurance at a cost of $350 million a year, or 1 percent of the state budget.
Christie overhauled the health insurance and pension plans for New Jersey state employees to curb the states’ budget deficit.
An ardent abortion opponent, Perry signed a pledge to use his federal power, if elected, to appoint anti-abortion advocates to top positions and to work to defund Planned Parenthood.
Romney believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned so states can independently decide whether to outlaw abortion. He has angered some conservatives by not signing a pledge to appoint anti-abortion advocates to top federal positions. Romney campaigned in 1994 and 2002 as an abortion rights supporter but has since switched positions.
Ardently anti-abortion, Christie pledged in his 2009 campaign for governor to “reduce abortions in New Jersey through laws such as parental notification, a 24-hour waiting period and a ban on partial-birth abortion.”
During Perry's tenure, 236 convicted criminals have been executed, more than any U.S. governor in modern history. He has commuted the death sentences of 31 inmates, including 28 who the U.S. Supreme Court said could no longer be executed because they were juveniles at the time of their crime.
Romney unsuccessfully attempted to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts in 2005 and again in 2007.
Christie supports the death penalty, and endorsed a lawmakers’ bill to reinstate the death penalty for convicted criminals who murdered a child, killed a police officer on duty or committed a terrorist act that results in mass murders.
Texas currently has seven lawsuits filed against the EPA challenging regulations that limit emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In his book Fed Up!, Perry calls global warming “one contrived phony mess."
Romney says he believes the world is getting hotter but doesn't know "if it's mostly caused by humans." He opposes increasing regulations on emissions. "What I'm not willing to do is spend trillions of dollars on something I don't know the answer to," he has said.
“When you have over 90 percent of the world’s scientists who have studied this stating that climate change is occurring and that humans play a contributing role, it’s time to defer to the experts,” Christie has said. He issued a one-year moratorium on new coal plant permits.
Perry made outlawing "sanctuary cities" a priority during the last legislative session. After recent GOP debates, he was criticized for allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public universities. He has also increased funding for border security in Texas and recently asked the federal government to reimburse Texas for the cost of imprisoning illegal aliens.
Romney has said the U.S. ought to build a border fence, outlaw "sanctuary cities" and keep employers from hiring illegal immigrants. He's in favor of creating an employment-verification system.
Christie caught flack from talkshow host Lou Dobbs among others in 2008 when he said immigration is an administrative matter, not a crime. "Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,” he said, adding that a person is not a criminal unless they re-enter the country illegally after being deported.
Perry says evolution is a theory "with some gaps." On the campaign trail, he inaccurately told a child that "in Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools. Because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.”
Romney has said he believes God created the universe and that “evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”
Christie says the decision to teach creationism in schools should be decided at the local level. “Evolution is required teaching,” Christie said. “If there’s a certain school district that also wants to teach creationism, that’s not something we should decide.”
Perry has backtracked on a claim made in his book Fed Up! that states should decide whether to sanction same-sex marriage. He now says he supports a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage. "Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me. My stance hasn't changed. I believe marriage is a union between one man and one woman," he said.
Although same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Romney signed a pledge to appoint officials, particularly judges, who oppose same-sex marriage. He has said he would defend the Defense of Marriage Act and has signed a pledge to support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
On his 2009 campaign site, Christie said, “While, I have no issue with same sex couples sharing contractual rights, I believe that marriage should remain the exclusive domain of one man and one woman.”
