PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Chris Christie has dropped out of the race for the 2024 Republican nomination, marking an end to his second attempt at a White House bid.
The former New Jersey governor announced his withdrawal during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
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“Campaigns are run to win, that’s why we do them. It’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path to win the nomination,” Christie told supporters in attendance.
“Which is why I’m suspending my campaign tonight to become the president of the United States.”
Before the start of his town hill, Christie was reportedly caught on a hot mic in a live stream from the event saying Nikki Haley is going to lose and is in over her head despite spending five times as much as Christie’s campaign.
In the days leading up to his decision, Christie’s allies urged the former governor to drop out of the race and endorse Haley, according to The National Review.
“She’s [Haley] going to get smoked, and you and I both know it. She’s not up to this,” Christie was reportedly caught saying on Wednesday.
He also claimed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called him and sounded “petrified” before the audio on the live stream cut off.
He stopped short of endorsing any of the candidates.
With the January 23 New Hampshire primaries itching closer, Christie faced an uphill battle against his competitors.
His exit removes the most high-profile and consistent critic of former President Donald Trump, who remains atop the Republican primary race.
Christie admitted he never believed Donald Trump despite backing him in the 2016 leadership race.
Christie’s departure is expected to boost the campaigns of DeSantis and a surging Haley – who are set to go head-to-head in a debate at Drake University in Des Monies, Iowa, on Wednesday evening.
Haley has trimmed Trump’s lead in the New Hampshire primaries to single digits, according to a CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire.
Trump holds the lead with the backing of around 39 percent of likely Republican voters, while Haley trails with 32 percent – a jump of around 12 percentage points since November.
A New Jersey poll found that around two-thirds of Christie’s supporters in New Hampshire would choose Haley as their second choice, per the Associated Press.
‘NO GROUND GAME’
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu revealed to CNN on Tuesday that Christie’s team was having discussions about dropping out of the race, saying the presidential candidate had “no ground game.”
“I would say this: I think members of his leadership team here in New Hampshire are having those discussions with him, and that’s the right folks to dit it there,” Sununu told the outlet.
“He has no ground game. He’s not even trying, even in the next two or three days, he could be here doing 10 events a day – he’s doing like two.
“There’s no real emphasis of his own campaign here.
“He’s running out of resources, he’s not campaigning in any other state. I think those discussions are happening.”
However, in the days leading up to his decision, Christie denied the claims of talks about a potential exit.
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On Tuesday, he said he refused to pick the most popular candidate based on politics like he did in 2016.
“I’m not going to make the same mistake again. Can’t do it,” he said.
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