(Windham) Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said Wednesday that he is ending his bid for the Republican presidential primary.
“My goal has never been to simply be a voice against the hatred, division and selfishness of what our party has become under Donald Trump,” Mr. Christie said at a public rally at the New Hampshire.
“I’ve always said that if there came a time in this race where I didn’t see a path to achieving that goal, I would step aside,” he added. And it is clear to me tonight that there is no way for me to win the nomination, which is why I am suspending my campaign for President of the United States tonight. »
It was not clear whether Mr. Christie was immediately backing any of his rivals, but he was heard criticizing former UN ambassador Nikki Haley during a livestream hosted by his campaign before the ‘event.
The withdrawal comes as a surprise, given that Mr. Christie had pinned his hopes on the New Hampshire primary, the first in the nation, which takes place in less than two weeks. As late as Tuesday, he insisted he had no plans to leave the race, continuing to present himself as the only candidate willing to take on the former president directly.
M’s alliesme Haley, including New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and other anti-Trump Republicans, had urged Mr. Christie to step down, hoping that many of his supporters would flock to Mr.me Haley, which would give him a chance to turn the race into a two-candidate contest with Mr. Trump, who is the heavy favorite for the nomination.
A CNN/UNH poll in New Hampshire — which gave Mr. Christie a 12 percent rating — found that about two-thirds of his supporters would choose Mr.me Haley as second choice.
Mr. Christie presented himself as the fiercest opponent in the race against the former president who became a favorite of the Republican Party.
He warned voters against nominating a candidate who has been criminally charged four times and could very well be a convicted felon by November’s general election. And he argued that Mr. Trump would lose in a rematch against President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic nominee.