Former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, has decided not to throw his hat in the ring for the presidency with No Labels, leaving the centrist organization without another high-profile contender for its proposed third-party ticket.
Christie, who ended his second attempt at the Republican presidential bid before this year’s primaries began, revealed that he had received “encouragement” to explore a third-party candidacy but has ultimately chosen against it, as per a report by Politico.
The ex-governor was mulling over the idea of a third-party presidential run, with suggestions of him running on a unity ticket advocated by No Labels.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Christie expressed, “I believe we need a country that once again feels like everyone has a stake in what we’re doing and leadership that strives to bring people together, instead of using anger to divide us. 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.”
Known for his critiques of Trump, Christie initially dismissed the notion of a third-party candidacy while directly challenging the former president in the primary. However, he revisited the option after exiting the Republican race.
After bowing out of the race in January, Christie declared, “I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambition.”
No Labels has encountered a string of refusals. Both Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema have turned down the idea of running for president on a third-party ticket.
Furthermore, former Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, who was seen as another potential candidate, opted to pursue a Senate bid instead.
Most recently, the organization suffered another setback as former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan rejected its proposal.
This article was partially generated with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed and approved by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Shutterstock