Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to enter an increasingly crowded 2024 GOP presidential field still dominated by former President Donald Trump.
The GOP currently has seven candidates who have officially launched campaigns:
- Trump
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
- Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder
- Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
- Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- S. Senator Tim Scott (S.C.)
The field will become even more crowded when former President Mike Pence is said to be launching his campaign next week.
Christie chose to run in 2016 rather than in the 2012 presidential election when his popularity was probably at its peak.
Like other candidates in 2016, he was defeated by Trump, whom he supported to compete against Hillary Clinton.
At one point, Christie was close to Trump and helped prepare for debates, but their relationship has soured after the 2020 presidential election and Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud.
According to reporting by Newsweek, citing Ross Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, Christie’s latest presidential bid is “quixotic” and “seems like a fool’s errand.”
Baker noted that Christie’s entry would actually be “counterproductive” since it only adds to an already overcrowded race by “dividing up the primary vote.”
Baker added that every candidate sat at less than 10 percent of the Republican electorate, while Trump was comfortably on 25 percent.
Although state and federal investigations have overshadowed Trump’s campaign, he remains the GOP’S frontrunner.
A May 26 to 28 Morning Consult poll found that 56 percent of potential GOP primary voters supported Trump, followed by DeSantis at 22 percent. Pence was third with 5 percent, and Christie was not on the list.
