After a poor showing in the New Hampshire Republican primary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie officially dropped out of the race for president on Wednesday.
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Christie on Tuesday night told supporters he was heading home to New Jersey to “take a deep breath”, await the final tally of results and decide what to do next. Much of the United States social media cheered at the news.
He expected the GOP field to whittle down this week.
Fiorina, 61, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, said in a Facebook post she would suspend her campaign. He won only about 7 percent of votes on Tuesday, despite a pugnacious performance at a Republican debate last weekend.
The state is friendly territory for the Vermont senator and a must-win if he’s to have a chance of staying competitive with Clinton as the race moves to more diverse states that are seen as more hospitable to the former secretary of state. What has come as a surprise is how poorly Marco Rubio performed at the debate.
CRUZ: Well, listen; one of the realities is you can not beat Donald Trump running from the left.
“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said”, Fiorina said calmly. I think it helps the Democrats.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, who finished in a disappointing fifth place, following a freaky debate performance in which he repeatedly and robotically offered staid anti-Obama talking points, vowed that he was still “going to be the nominee”.
The large Republican field was winnowed after Iowa, but there remains a crowded grouping of more traditional candidates, including Rubio and the governors.
For Trump, the brash real estate billionaire and television personality who has never held public office, the win was an important rebound after his loss to Texas Sen. He tells you what hes going to do, but he wont tell you how hes going to do it. I think once this race narrows, the pressure will be on him.New Hampshire destroyed any momentum Rubio had coming out of Iowa and for now, at least, locks Rubio in a messy muddle in his partys establishment wing. At the end of 2015, he appeared to be breaking into the top tier after a video of him discussing a friend’s struggle with drug addiction went viral.
The attacks in Paris and San Bernardino in particular played to Christie’s advantage, allowing him to talk about his previous position as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and play up his law-and-order credentials.
On last Saturday’s GOP debate hosted by ABC, Christie made several pointed attacks directed towards Florida Sen. But he declined, saying he wasn’t ready.
In the meantime, Christie’s aggressive political team worked to rack up endorsements and wide victory margins in his re-election bid for governor as a springboard for 2016. In more than one way, Kasich is the anti-Trump. Aides purposely created traffic jams in the town of Fort Lee to punish the mayor, who chose not to endorse Christie’s re-election.
One member of the audience, Robin Woodfin, an evangelical Christian from Spartanburg, said she was impressed with Rubio’s speech.
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Still, Fiorina struck a chord with many Republican voters, many of whom were especially drawn to her fierce anti-abortion viewpoints and spirited appearances on the campaign trail and in debates.
