Chris Christie drops out of Republican presidential race

The exit of the former New Jersey governor, struggling in fifth place in national polling, is likely to be a boost for Nikki Haley.

Chris Christie accused his rivals of pulling their punches against Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Chris Christie has dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination in what is likely to be a boost for Nikki Haley, who will hope to pick up many of his supporters.

Christie, a former governor of New Jersey, was struggling in fifth place in national polling but was showing in third place in New Hampshire, the crucial second Republican contest, where his supporters could help Haley into a neck-and-neck race with Donald Trump.

Christie, 61, consistently said his goal was to stop Trump returning as the Republican candidate and decided that the best way to achieve that was to bow out only five days before the first contest in Iowa.

“My goal has never been to be just a voice against the hate and division and the selfishness of what our party has become under Donald Trump,” Christie told a public event in New Hampshire. “I’ve always said that if there came a point in time in this race where I couldn’t see a path to accomplishing that goal, that I would get out.”

He has yet to formally endorse another candidate but his departure will make New Hampshire on January 23 - the second Republican contest after the Iowa caucuses on Monday - a watershed moment in the contest in which Haley, a former South Carolina governor, has gained momentum.

Christie was on 11.6 per cent support in New Hampshire, according to the 538 website aggregate of all polls, while Haley was on 29.9 per cent. Their combined total of 41.5 per cent would take Haley close to Trump’s 42.4 per cent.

However, moments before the event began, Christie was caught apparently making disparaging comments about Haley’s chances of beating Trump on the live feed posted on his campaign website. “She’s going to get smoked. You and I both know it, she’s not up to this,” Christie said.

Christie’s departure is unlikely to have much of an impact in Iowa, where he has not campaigned and Trump has long held a huge polling lead, with Haley pushing Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, for a distant second place.

Haley is closer to Trump in New Hampshire than in Iowa because non-aligned voters are allowed to take part, broadening the scope of participants beyond self-declared Republicans. One poll found that 65 per cent of Christie supporters said that Haley was their second choice.

Calls for Christie to drop out had been led by Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire, who endorsed Haley a month ago. Christie had called Sununu a “liar” for saying that senior figures in the Christie campaign were calling on him to drop out. “I think members of his leadership team here in New Hampshire are having those discussions with them,” Sununu told CNN on Tuesday.

Christie had strong words for his rivals, whom he accused of pulling their punches against Trump. “Anyone who is unwilling to say he is not fit to be president of the United States is not fit themselves to become president of the United States,” he said.

He was scathing about Trump’s unsuitability to be president again: “I have known him for 22 years ... I can promise you this: if you put him back behind the desk in the Oval Office and the decision needs to be made whether he will put himself first or put you first ... he will put himself first.”

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said: “President Trump has already vanquished eight challengers ... because Republican voters want a strong leader who will reboot our economy, secure our border, make America energy independent again, and keep our families safe.”

The Times