On Friday, Linda McMahon will hold a rally with New Jersey’s governor Chris Christie in Stamford, Conn.

Christie’s visit follows Scott Brown’s appearance with McMahon in Milford, Conn. on Saturday (video of which is below). These events come as surprises — at least to me — considering McMahon’s wish to be seen as an outsider. When FreedomWorks endorsed the Republican candidate in September, Ed Patru, a spokesman for McMahon, wrote:

Linda hasn’t sought outside endorsements or financial assistance from national organizations, and there are no plans to do so. She’s focused on continuing her dialogue with the voters of Connecticut. FreedomWorks is a grassroots organization with thousands of members in our state and we are very encouraged by and welcoming of support from Connecticut voters, whether they identify with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Tea Party or no organized political party at all.

True, Brown and Christie aren’t “national organizations.” They’re national figures — and popular ones at that. An aide to McMahon tells Battle ‘10 that Brown and Christie approached the campaign about stumping for the candidate; it gladly accepted.