Washington, Oct 4 : For months, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been saying "no" to pleas that he join the race for the Republican nomination for president, but his mainstream party suitors won't give up.

Now, under even heavier pressure from some in the establishment , the budget-cutting, brusk-talking Christie was expected to give his latest final answer as early as this week.For many in the party hierarchy, Christie is seen as a savior to their hopes of putting the White House back in Republican hands next year.

Those pushing Christie are disenchanted with front-runners Mitt Romney, viewed as too uninspiring, and Rick Perry, seen as unprepared for the national political scene. Many party elders don't see them ousting President Barack Obama despite his steep decline in the polls and a voting public deeply distressed over his handling of the wobbly economy.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who also ran in 2008, normally would be a shoo-in as the next Republican in line for nomination to the top job. But he has failed to catch fire with many in the party establishment and is seen as too liberal for the small-government, low-tax tea party wing of the party. Beyond that there are questions among the political elite about whether a Mormon can win the White House.

Texas Gov. Perry, who shot to the top of the Republican pack within weeks of announcing his candidacy in August, has turned in poor debate performances recently and is seen by many in the party as not ready for the national political stage. He's lost points with ultraconservatives for his stance on immigration and his attempt to require girls in Texas to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted malady that can cause cervical cancer.

At the same time, others in the Republican field have shrunk into the background as Romney and Perry became the front-runners despite their perceived drawbacks.

Given what is seen as the thin support for both men among the mainstream of the Republican Party, Christie has been sought after repeatedly and has just as repeatedly said he does not feel ready for a run. But big money interests -- those who could make campaign funding plentiful -- have upped the pressure on Christie in recent days and his camp has suggested a response this week.

At the swearing-in ceremony of a superior court judge in Patterson, New Jersey, Christie remained coy Monday night, joking about coming to the ceremony "a little preoccupied."Should he change course, Christie still faces strong headwinds.

He favors some restrictions on gun rights, as well as civil unions for gay couples. He now opposes abortion, but described himself as "pro-choice" at the beginning of his political career. Such positions put him fundamentally at odds with the party's conservative base in a political atmosphere where ideological purity is a key test of acceptability.

"At the 30,000-foot level he looks good. But he's not being vetted as a presidential candidate yet," said U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta of New Hampshire.

A "yes" this late in the contest would leave Christie with only about three months before the first Republican caucuses in Iowa shortly after the New Year. He would then, in very short order, need to build organizations in New Hampshire, which holds the first state primary, and South Carolina with the first-in-the-South primary on Jan. 21. The party there moved up the state vote after Florida -- contrary to party rules -- moved its contest to Jan. 31.

So far neither Christie nor his political team has reached out to Republican strategists or top party officials in Iowa or New Hampshire. But Christie's renewed look at a presidential bid without making a round of calls even to new, influential friends in the two states reflects confidence within Christie's circle that the adoring Republican elites who have courted him can compensate for his organizational deficit with momentum.

The compression of state caucus and primary votes will test Christie's organizational mettle. Added to that challenge is the fact that Christie still would have to face the national scrutiny accorded any candidate for the presidential nomination, including a thorough examination of his record as a federal prosecutor and a deep look at his accomplishments, or lack thereof, as a first-term governor in a heavily Democratic state.AP