New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is suddenly dodging the question of whether he’s a creationist.

And the reason is no mystery. If he’s considering a run for the GOP nomination and he doesn’t personally believe the Earth is 6,000 years old, it’s vital for him to avoid the question — because creationism is a very important plank of the Republican Party’s anti-science platform.

One of the ways the GOP constantly tries to sneak this garbage into public school science classes is to portray it as a “local” issue, and sure enough, Christie goes right there.

Last week at a town hall in Manalapan, Chistie said he thought the decision to teach creationism in public schools should be made at the local level. He reitereated [sic] that position today.

“Evolution is required teaching,” Christie said. “If there’s a certain school district that also wants to teach creationism, that’s not something we should decide in Trenton.”

Christie said his position is not an endorsement of creationism, but rather an endorsement of making decisions about curriculum outside the common core standards at the local level.

(h/t: lawhawk.)