National news media are reporting that Governor Christie is preparing to suspend his presidential campaign as early as today after a disappointing, sixth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, but Christie’s spokeswoman told The Record that “no decision has been made”.
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His departure would leave eight Republicans vying to represent the party in November’s presidential election. And countless others were mired in traffic jams after access lanes from the town of Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge were closed in an act of political retribution.
The Christie presidential campaign was an ego trip at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers. Chris Christie responds at the CNN Republican… Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to supporters on primary election night, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, in Hollis, N.H.
On the Democratic side, Sanders courted the African-American vote on Wednesday, having breakfast with civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton at a restaurant in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. John Kasich, who pulled out a solid second in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, is counting on a surge in cash, too.
Wayne MacDonald, who was chairman of Christie’s campaign in New Hampshire, said he and Christie traded text messages this morning but did not discuss whether he would end his bid. He said he has “no idea” if Christie is getting out of the race but that “ultimately, I’d love to see Chris stay in”. From the start of the campaign, Christie wasn’t able to reignite the level of passion that led business and political leaders to try and convince him to run against President Barack Obama four years ago. “I’ll tell you one last thing”, he said.
The terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino in particular played to Christie’s advantage, allowing him to talk about his previous job as a US attorney and play up his law-and-order credentials.
Other Republicans who have left the race include South Carolina Sen. “He asked me for advertising for his newspaper and he wanted me to make speeches and he wanted me to do his debate which was just before the Fox debate – the one where you drew 24 million people – and I said I could not do it”.
But with a field filled with numerous other options, including current and former governors and senators, Christie never consolidated support, despite being praised by both fans and rivals as one of the Republican party’s best communicators. “So I’m really cool with whatever happens here”, he said.
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Gov. Christie virtually abandoned the state that elected him. And the guy who knows more about New Hampshire than any guy from New Jersey I’ve ever met in my life, Matt Mowers.
