Chris Christie launches bid for GOP presidential nomination

(NewsNation) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has filed paperwork to run for the GOP 2024 nomination, becoming the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the White House.

Christie is set to make his formal announcement Tuesday night, now that he’s filed the official papers with the Federal Election Commission. He’s expected to launch his run from New Hampshire, the state which proved to be his undoing in the 2016 primary.

Christie joins an already crowded field, including long-shot candidates like businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative radio host Larry Elder, as well as more serious challengers including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. All of them are challenging former President Donald Trump, who remains the presumed front-runner.

Christie previously ran for the nomination in 2016, dropping out after the New Hampshire primary. He supported Trump for the nomination but parted ways with the former president after Trump denied the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Christie is likely to point to his record as governor of New Jersey, and in particular, his ability to work across the aisle with Democrats when needed. He has shown a willingness to criticize those in his own party for their actions, as he did when he objected to former House Speaker John Boehner’s efforts to delay relief for Hurricane Sandy victims.

Christie is also seen as a more polished debater than the other candidates, and may be more appealing to moderate voters who turned away from Trump in 2020.

In order to qualify for the debates, however, a candidate needs to have at least 40,000 campaign donors and perform better than 1% in qualifying polls done over the summer.