Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to announce his presidential bid next week in New Hampshire, according to multiple reports.
The ally-turned-critic of former President Trump previously ran for the White House in 2016 but exited the race after finishing sixth in the New Hampshire GOP primaries with single digit support.
According to his campaign team, here’s what his candidacy will bring to the table, as reported by Axios:
- Being joyful and hitting a more hopeful note aimed at America's "exhausted majority."
- Being authentic — a happy warrior who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose. Christie's recent interviews and New Hampshire town halls aim to recapture the brio of his 2009 governor's race.
- Running a national race — "a non-traditional campaign that is highly focused on earned media, mixing it up in the news cycle and engaging Trump," an adviser said. "Will not be geographic dependent, but nimble."
The report comes after the former governor's allies launched a super PAC this week, Tell It Like It Is.
Brian Jones, an aide who advised Senator John McCain’s presidential bid in 2008 and Mitt Romney’s in 2012, will run the effort.
William P. Palatucci, a longtime adviser to Mr. Christie and a Republican National Committee member, will be the chair. Another long-serving adviser to Mr. Christie, Russ Schriefer, will oversee messaging as a senior adviser; and Brent Seaborn, a veteran data guru, will focus on voter targeting.
Maria Comella, an adviser who also was chief of staff to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Mike DuHaime, Mr. Christie’s top political strategist in 2016, are expected to run an eventual campaign if Mr. Christie announces as expected. Anthony Scaramucci, the hedge fund adviser who served for less than two weeks as a communications director in the Trump White House and has become a vocal Trump critic, has said he will support Mr. Christie if he runs. (NYT)
Christie “is willing to confront the hard truths that currently threaten the future of the Republican Party,” Jones said in a statement, according to The New York Times. “Now more than ever we need leaders that have the courage to say not what we want to hear but what we need to hear.”
Christie is expected to make his campaign announcement at Saint Anselm College on Tuesday evening.