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News was leaked by morning talk show hosts who were told by Trump

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie threw in the towel on the 2016 presidential race today, saying he suspends his campaign "without an ounce of regret." Christie walked away from the Iowa caucuses with no delegates and 1.8 percent of the vote. He spent lots of time in New Hampshire and was pinning his presidential hopes on a strong showing in the Granite State. That didn't happen. Christie finished in sixth place Tuesday as John Kasich emerged as the top governor in the field. With no delegates and 7.4 percent of the vote, Christie didn't travel on to Nevada or South...

New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie stated he wouldn’t take any position on legalizing people in the US until the border is secured, but declared, “Never a path to citizenship” in an interview broadcast on Monday’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” on the Fox News Channel. Christie said, in response to a question on what he would do with the people in the US illegally [relevant remarks begin around 3:10] “Never a path to citizenship. No one who comes here, knowingly, illegally, should be rewarded with the greatest possession that anyone can have, and that’s...

Though Rick Perry’s lack of campaign dollars received the most attention this week, whispers are now circulating of a possible second GOP candidate giving serious consideration to dropping out of the race by the end of this month – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Paul took the position the government’s surveillance powers were significantly over-extended while Christie implied the senator’s views were dangerously ignorant and little more than “hot air.” Days after the confrontation between the two men it appears more voters are taking Senator Paul’s position over Christie’s as the New Jersey governor’s poll numbers continue to be stuck...

WATERLOO, Iowa — Campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday, Gov. Chris Christie said he'll likely pardon several out-of-staters legally permitted to carry their firearms in their home states who have been recently arrested in New Jersey under the Garden State's tough gun laws. Elizabeth J. Griffith, of Daytona Beach, Fla., was arrested by U.S. Park Police on July 14 during a visit to Liberty State Park in Jersey City and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. She could face a ten year prison sentence because her Florida state-issued permit to carry a handgun is not recognized by New...

Chris Christie is running for president, he announced today at his alma mater, Livingston High School in New Jersey, becoming the 14th Republican candidate to enter the 2016 presidential race. "America is tired of handwringing and indecisiveness and weakness in the Oval Office," the New Jersey governor said today to a cheering crowd. "We need to have strength and decision-making and authority back in the Oval office and that is why today I am proud to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States of America." Standing beside him were his wife, Mary Pat, and...

Maine’s Paul LePage became the first sitting governor to endorse a candidate in the 2016 GOP nomination race, throwing his support behind Christie Christie’s fledgling bid for president. Mr. LePage said that the New Jersey governor has been an inspiration to him over his career and said Mr. Christie, as the head of the Republican Governors Association, played an instrumental role in helping him win re-election last year. (SNIP) LePage refused to criticize Christie for accepting Obamacare’s huge Medicaid expansion, a program LePage has derided as “welfare expansion” and that he repeatedly vetoed when the Maine Legislature sent it to...

Governor Christie declared his presidential intentions on Tuesday in what appears to be crowded GOP field. But “crowded” is a relative word according to the FEC’s official list of candidates.Christie joined 12 other high-profile Republican primary candidates after holding a press conference and he will soon file with the Federal Elections Commission as a candidate of record receiving campaign contributions.

HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, issued the following statement welcoming New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie into the race for the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States:“I’m glad to welcome Governor Chris Christie into our diverse field of candidates. He is bold, he is brash, and I’m always glad to see Republicans get elected in blue states. His presence in the race for the Republican nomination will make our eventual nominee all the stronger to defeat Hillary Clinton in November of 2016.”

SNIP Look, I don't mind Chris Christie. He's plainspoken, he's got a good record of debating women without looking like a sexist pig, he's managed to elude the long and meandering opposition research tendrils from American Bridge, and he regrets most of the decision he made that are at odds with the conservative base. It is time for Christie to move on from New Jersey, too - his poll numbers have been steadily declining and his straightforward demeanor is wearing on the people who once thought it fresh and novel. But he's unafraid to be confrontational and, unlike Jeb Bush,...

Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) is nearing a decision on his presidential bid and could announce his decision as soon as next week, sources told Politico. Christie would likely be the 14th GOP candidate in a crowded primary if he decides to jump in—12 have already announced and Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.) is set to join later Wednesday. Christie, a no-nonsense Republican from a deep blue state, earned a legion of supporters for his willingness to, at times, buck party lines. His 2012 embrace of President Obama after Hurricane Sandy both endeared him to his supporters and repulsed his detractors. Once...

If any doubt remained that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would throw his hat in the ring for the Republican presidential nomination, it was all but erased at a recent family meeting.

A former crony of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pleaded guilty Friday in the “Bridgegate” scandal — and is willing to testify that the fading GOP star knew about crippling lane closures as they were happening, his lawyer said afterward.

Chris Christie took a centrist tone on guns Wednesday, calling for the “right balance” between gun control and the Second Amendment. “We’ve got to make sure we have public safety, but on the other hand we have to protect people’s rights both as sportsmen and hunters and for self protection too, find the right balance,” Christie told a group of New Hampshire voters at Chez Vachon in Manchester, according to New Jersey newspaper The Record.

<p>LONDONDERRY, N.H. (AP) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is introducing himself to New Hampshire voters in a format he knows well - a town hall meeting.</p> <p>The likely 2016 Republican presidential contender drew a capacity crowd Wednesday to his first town hall in New Hampshire, in Londonderry. He opened the event by talking about his life story.</p>

Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) has been out of the 2016 presidential campaign conversation for some time now, partly due to the aggressive entrances of figures like Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). But when he spoke to radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday, he declared confidently of Hillary Clinton, “If I run, I will beat her.” Christie named Pennsylvania, New Mexico and New Hampshire as formally blue states that he believes he can turn red in a race against Clinton. Listen to audio below, via The Hugh Hewitt Show:

As Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush engage in an increasingly bitter fight over big donors and fundraisers, another Republican eyeing the presidency could get squeezed out: Christopher James Christie. The New Jersey governor is suddenly moving quickly to build a campaign infrastructure in the wake of announcements by Romney and Bush that they are exploring White House bids. Christie has brought on a finance chairman, is launching a leadership PAC and is heading to Iowa for a cattle call later this month. A big chunk of his State of the State speech this week was about the rest of the...

The primary field on the right is developing in a way that favors candidates closer to the center.Conservatives have many reasons to be pleased about their position within the GOP, even after a quixotic challenge to Speaker John Boehner from the far right failed this week. On almost all issues, the current in the party now flows powerfully toward them. Every newly elected Republican senator ran on a deeply conservative platform. But conservatives also have reason to worry about how the 2016 Republican presidential race is coalescing. The field on the right is developing in a way that could advantage...

If Governor Christie does decide to run for president, he’s already locked up one of the most prolific fundraisers in Republican presidential politics.  Ken Langone, 79, is the billionaire founder of Home Depot whose willingness to back Christie for president not only creates the possibility of millions of dollars in donations but also the potential to block possible rivals by keeping them from adding this powerful ally.  “I’ll do everything I can do to help get him elected,” Langone said in a recent interview. “Whatever he asks me to do, I’ll do. I’m particularly good at fundraising, so I suspect...

New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie has forged a reputation as an imposing lawmaker who can get the job done by sheer will and force. But his confrontational style also poses a liability should he make a 2016 White House bid -- attracting hecklers, political rivals and others intent on disrupting his message to spotlight their own. Though Christie’s brash style has long been a topic for conversation, it has resurfaced amid political talk moving from the midterms to the next presidential election and Christie telling New Jersey resident Jim Keady to “sit down and shut up.” Keady, who challenged...