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Baker, Christie swap meet continues

Charlie Baker endorsed Chris Christie in February. Elise Amendola/Associated Press/Associated Press

The years-long swap meet of political assets between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker continues. All that’s missing is a joint appearance between Springsteen and Aerosmith somewhere on I-95.

The latest exchange came when the state GOP, over which Baker gained increased control earlier this year, hired Elise Dickens, who was deputy finance director for Christie’s ill-fated presidential campaign.

Around the same time, several weeks ago, Baker brought Dickens’s husband, Tom Dickens, onto the state payroll as his administration’s director of external affairs.

Several years back, Christie, who at the time was eyed as a potential 2012 presidential contender, endorsed Baker in his failed 2010 gubernatorial bid. Four years later, Christie was chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which bestowed more than $11 million on Baker’s comeback effort, which proved a winner.

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This February, days before Christie finished a distant sixth in the New Hampshire primary and dropped his presidential bid, Baker endorsed him at a weekend event in Bedford, N.H.

Jim O’Sullivan can be reached at jim.osullivan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JOSreports.