Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., signed two fundraising messages on behalf of Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, in an attempt to help King’s reelection campaign that could help Christie find an ally ahead of the 2016 Iowa caucuses.

“I’m proud to support Congressman Steve King because, like me, Steve is a conservative warrior. He says what’s on his mind and doesn’t shy away from the big fights—like Washington’s reckless spending spree, ObamaCare and higher taxes,” Christie wrote yesterday (original emphasis). “But his opponent, Christie Vilsack, is the sweetheart of the far left and her special interest friends, like Nancy Pelosi, George Soros and Planned Parenthood, are pulling out all the stops to elect her.”

Presidential candidates routinely court King for his endorsement in the Iowa Republican caucuses, which kick off the presidential election and can set a candidate on a path to the White House.

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“Iowa—heck America as a whole—can’t afford to lose Steve King’s steady, authentically conservative voice in Congress,” Christie added, before asking donors to contribute up to $100 to King’s re-election bid. To help King in this manner seems to allow Christie to begin laying the groundwork for a 2016 run without openly banking on Romney’s defeat.

He left the door open, earlier this year, to a presidential bid in the event that Romney loses. “If there’s an opportunity for me to serve in another capacity and I think I have something to add to the mix, I don’t think I’d back away from it,” Christie told the Associated Press in July, saying as well that he’ll “certainly think about it” if the Oval Office is open in four years.

In his email for King, Christie predicted that “if Christie Vilsack [King's opponent] wins this race, Obama will win a second term and Pelosi will take back control of the House.”