Christie expected to announce presidential bid next week: reports

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is expected to launch his 2024 bid for the White House next week in New Hampshire, according to multiple reports.

Christie, who has become a staunch critic of former President Trump, has been mulling a GOP bid for the presidency for months. The former governor, who also ran for the White House in 2016, is expected to announce his 2024 campaign next Tuesday, Axios first reported. Christie is scheduled to speak at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, N.H. on Tuesday night, The Hill has confirmed.

CNN also reported that Christie is expected to announce his candidacy next week, citing three unidentified sources familiar with his plans.

Earlier this week, Christie’s allies launched a super PAC this week ahead of his expected presidential bid. The Tell It Like It Is PAC will be led by Republican operative Brian Jones and Republican National Committee members Bill Palatucci and Russ Schriefer.

Christie, a former ally and friend of Trump, has ramped up his attacks on the former president over the last few months. He has said that he cannot back Trump’s reelection bid and has tried to present himself as “the viable Trump alternative.”

Christie has regularly criticized Trump in his role as an on-air contributor for ABC’s “This Week,” and has repeatedly said that he does not believe Republicans will win if Trump is their nominee.

The former governor’s expected announcement would mark his second bid for the presidency. He had a lackluster performance in the 2016 GOP primary, finishing sixth in New Hampshire before pulling out of the election. Christie, along with other Republican candidates, has already made several trips during this cycle to the early voting state of New Hampshire.

Christie is currently trailing in polling of a hypothetical 2024 GOP presidential primary. In the RealClear Politics polling average, Christie is polling at 1 percent, significantly behind Trump, who is atop the Republican field with an average of 53.2 percent in recent surveys.

Christie would join a growing pool of GOP candidates set to challenge Trump, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), among others.

–Caroline Vakil contributed to this report, which was updated at 10:17 a.m.