Shaquille O’Neal, aka “Shaq”, aka “Shaq Daddy”, aka “Shaq Fu”, aka “Diesel”, aka “The Big Aristotle”, aka “Superman”, aka “MDE” (Most Dominant Ever), aka “The Big Maravich”, aka “The Big Fella”, aka “The Big Shamrock”, aka “Cake” (And apparently the world record holder for most nicknames, especially considering the list continues on and on…) is best known for his success as a basketball star, having won 4 NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. However, Shaq is multi-talented. Off the court, Shaq has been a television anchor, hosted a TV show, starred in movies, pursued a rap career, served as a spokesman for Buick, created a video game, trained in MMA, and even attempted to run a real-estate business. Now, Shaq has decided to foray into politics.

In a 30-second ad, Shaq discusses why Christie is “The Governor” for New Jersey:

“I don’t endorse many politicians. But Chris Christie is different. He’s working with me to bring jobs back to our cities and on a new program to help kids in tough neighborhoods get ahead. Governor Christie’s provided more funding for schools, given parents more choices in what schools their kids can go to, and merit pay for good teachers. He’s a good man. Excuse me, he’s a great man. Please join me in supporting Chris Christie–the Governor.”

The ad is just a 30-second blurb, so “The Big Aristotle” doesn’t have much time to really philosophize about why one should vote for Chris Christie in the upcoming gubernatorial election. But, as CBSNews points out, Christie essentially has the race wrapped up already. According to a recent Reuters-Eagleton Poll, Christie leads his Democratic challenger, Barbara Buono, by 26 points – an almost insurmountable deficit.

With the election essentially in the bag, perhaps “Superman” has ulterior motives for running the ad. Recently, “The Big Diesel” has been working with Christie to make improvements to his hometown of Newark, NJ. “Shaq Daddy” has met with Christie concerning getting involved in the state’s gun buy-back program. “The Big Fella” was most recently spotted with Christie at the Boys $ Girls Club in Camden announcing the state’s new Just Play initiative, a push to create more extracurricular activities and get children off the streets at the most dangerous hours from 3-6 PM.

All of this political involvement and immersion back into his home-state of New Jersey have many wondering if Shaq will be running as the next governor of New Jersey. Christie is almost a shoe-in to become the next GOP Presidential candidate, meaning he will have to vacate his seat as governor of New Jersey. As much as Barbara Buono would like to see Christie lose this election (stating, “The governor is running [for President], we already know it, he’s already gone, and I think we should return the favor on Nov. 5.”) , the numbers show that Christie will be the New Jersey governor for at least another 2 years – just enough time to allow him to run for the 2016 Presidential race. Who better to replace Christie than the “MDE”? While even Shaq may not be able to fit Christie’s pants, we all know he can easily fit his shoes.

Image via Twitter