It’s official. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is out of the race after announcing that he is suspending his campaign. As an ardent critic of former President Donald Trump, Christie attempted to cast himself as a viable alternative to Trump, who remains popular with the Republican voting base.
The move comes just ahead of the much-anticipated Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
As the Republican field continues to narrow, Christie’s departure from the race raises an inevitable question: Which candidate will benefit the most?
Christie made his announcement on Wednesday evening.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Wednesday that he is ending his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, marking the exit of the most outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary.
“It is clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination, which is why I’m suspending my campaign tonight for President of the United States,” he said at a town hall in Windham, New Hampshire, just 10 days before the first-in-the-nation primary. He called it the “right thing for me to do” and promised that he would never “enable Donald Trump to become, to ever be president of the United States again.”
Christie’s candidacy seemed doomed from the start. The candidate’s campaign focused primarily on attacking Trump, which some viewed as a mistake. As RedState’s Sister Toldjah pointed out:
But any political campaign no matter what office you are running for needs to be about more than just why the other candidate(s) shouldn't emerge victorious. They also need to be about why you consider yourself the best person for the job, your qualifications, etc.
As for which candidate will benefit the most from Christie’s departure, my money’s on former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has been surging in the polls. Currently, the former ambassador is sitting at 16.6 percent in Iowa’s polling, slightly edging out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been seen as the primary challenger to Trump up until this point.
Even further, Haley has been gaining on Trump in South Carolina, according to recent polling.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has trimmed former President Donald Trump’s lead in the Republican primary race in New Hampshire to single digits, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire.
Trump still holds a meaningful lead in the poll, with the backing of 39% of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire compared to Haley’s 32%. The rest of the field lags far behind in the poll, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 12%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 5% and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at less than 1%.
Support for Haley has risen 12 percentage points since the last CNN/UNH poll in November, continuing an upward trajectory that began last summer, while her opponents –- including Trump – have seen their numbers remain stable or tick slightly downward since autumn.
Now that Christie is out of the race, it seems to me that most of his supporters will switch their allegiance to Haley rather than any of the other candidates. While Christie’s polling was abysmal at best, he still represented those who seek an alternative to Trump’s populist movement. With Haley’s momentum growing stronger, she might just be the one they choose to back as the favorite of the moderate establishment voters.
Those who favor a more moderate candidate are not likely to throw in with DeSantis, who is widely seen as a Trumplike figure, but without the former president’s weaknesses. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has run a decidedly Trumpian campaign, which is sure to repel those who favor a more traditional moderate Republican type.
In this area, Haley clearly fits the bill, having eschewed the non-interventionist foreign policy stances that alienated the populist elements.
It will not be surprising to see Haley’s star rise even further after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries as DeSantis’ campaign appears to be in trouble. Ramaswamy is still trailing far behind both DeSantis and Haley, which could indicate that he will be the next candidate following Christie out of the door.
However, it is important to note that Trump’s lead remains substantial nationally as Haley and DeSantis duke it out for second place. Haley’s chances of making a better showing than the rest of her opponents who are not named Donald J. Trump are favorable. But she has a long and difficult road ahead of her as she takes on the former president.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed, especially in this new era of American politics. The dynamics could continue to shift as more people drop out.
