Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie suspended his presidential campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination on Wednesday, Jan. 11. This suspension marks the exit of the most outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
Christie’s suspension comes only a few days before Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, surrendering to the growing pressure to drop out of the race. Addressing supporters at a New Hampshire town hall, Christie said he had come to the realization that he had no pathway to victory. The former candidate also made a few unofficial remarks, off-camera on a live microphone, criticizing his former GOP revivals.
Christie’s dropout comes as a surprise, given the former governor had staked his campaign on New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary — which is less than two weeks away. He had insisted as recently as Tuesday night that he had no plans to leave the race, continuing to cast himself as the only candidate willing to tell the truth and directly take on the former president.
