Christie Finds Himself on Short End With Civil-Rights Remark

Representative John Lewis, a veteran of the U.S. civil-rights movement, joined New Jersey Democrats criticizing Governor Chris Christie after he said blacks in the 1960s would have preferred referendums on desegregation -- a move he has backed for same-sex marriage. A day later, Christie apologized.

Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, stopped in the New Jersey capital yesterday to step up pressure on Christie, a first-term Republican. The governor has faced opposition from Democrats in the Legislature, including the state’s two openly gay lawmakers, after saying a week ago that early civil-rights activists “would have been happy to have a referendum.”