Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been toying with a third-party run ever since suspending his GOP-affiliated campaign for president.
Earlier this month, Christie refused to rule out a third-party run. “I wouldn’t preclude anything at this point,” Christie told political strategist David Axelrod on his podcast The Axe Files.
On Wednesday, Christie made a final decision. He refused to run his own campaign, but he remained open to supporting some other third-party effort.
“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten to pursue a third-party candidacy,” Christie told The Washington Post in a statement Wednesday.
“While I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward.”
Centrist group No Labels has been threatening to recruit a third-party candidate for president, and the group has received renewed attention since the death of its mastermind, Sen. Joe Lieberman, on Wednesday.
When running for president last year, Christie dismissed a third-party effort as “a fool’s errand.”
However, the “Never Trump” governor has been suggesting the possibility ever since ending his Republican campaign.
“There’s a lot between actually running yourself and nothing,” a noncomittal Christie told Axelrod earlier this month. “I would just say that there are a number of hurdles to get over before I would actually consider running as a third-party [candidate].”
Christie told NBC News last month that he would refuse to vote for Trump “under any circumstances.” He added, “I can’t see myself voting for President Biden, either.”
The Horn editorial team