Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is dropping out of the race to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, according to multiple published reports citing unnamed sources.
The decision is likely to be viewed as a boost to GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, who is coming in second to front-runner Donald Trump in most polling for key early states.
Supporters of Christie, who made an effort to position himself as the main anti-Trump Republican candidate, probably wouldn’t switch to Trump but would instead prefer Haley.
Christie’s exit could help Haley, especially in the Jan. 23 primary in New Hampshire, where she has 29% support, according to a RealClearPolitics moving average of polls. Adding Christie’s 12% support in the state — which had put him in third place — to Haley’s level would get her close to Trump’s 43%.
Christie’s exit doesn’t appear as likely to affect Iowa’s caucuses, which are due to take place Monday. He’s running fifth in that state with only 3% support, according to RCP’s average of Iowa surveys, behind Trump at 52%, Haley at 17%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 16% and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 7%.
Bloomberg News and NBC News have reported that Christie is dropping out, citing unnamed sources. He is scheduled to make remarks at a campaign event in New Hampshire around 5 p.m. Eastern time.
Now read: Iowa GOP caucuses: Haley now 2nd in most recent polls, while Trump has a key support level to hit
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