Story highlights
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie suspends his presidential bid Wednesday afternoon
- The decision marks a sudden end for someone once seen as a potential front-runner
(CNN)New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing finish in New Hampshire, he formally announced in a Facebook post Wednesday.
Christie made the announcement earlier on a call with his campaign. He staked his hopes on New Hampshire, but finished sixth on Tuesday night with just 7% of the vote.
Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has become a well-known face for the Republican party, but in his home state he's still the second-best-known Boss, next to Bruce Springsteen. Pictured above, Christie speaks at a news conference on October 4, 2011, in Trenton, the capital.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie signs the Overdose Prevention Act on May 2, 2013 in Paterson, New Jersey.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie addresses state legislators during his State of the State Address on January 8 in Trenton.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie tries to comfort Alice Cimillo, whose home was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, on November 1, 2012, in Moonachie, New Jersey.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – President Barack Obama and Christie talk with local residents affected by Hurricane Sandy at the Brigantine Beach Community Center on October 31, 2012, in Brigantine, New Jersey, in this photo provided by the White House.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie speaks to the media before the start of the abbreviated first day of the Republican National Convention on August 27, 2012, in Tampa, Florida.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Former first lady Nancy Reagan, center, is recognized before Christie delivers remarks at the Reagan Library on September 27, 2011, in Simi Valley, California.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie lays a white rose on wreckage pulled from ground zero during the dedication for the Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park on September 10, 2011, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie speaks at a town hall meeting in Hammonton, New Jersey, on March 29, 2011.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie and his wife, Mary Pat Christie, arrive at the White House for a state dinner on January 19, 2011, in Washington.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie exits the voting booth after casting his vote on November 3, 2009, in Mendham, New Jersey. Christie beat incumbent Democrat John Corzine for the gubernatorial position.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie and his running mate, Sheriff Kim Guadagno, left, make phone calls to voters at Monmouth County Republican Headquarters on November 2, 2009, in Freehold, New Jersey.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Then U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Christie pauses on May 8, 2007, before a news conference concerning a thwarted terrorist plot to attack the U.S. Army's Fort Dix outside Trenton.
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Chris Christie: New Jersey's other Boss – Christie works in his office in Newark on June 16, 2003.
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"Today, I leave the race without an ounce of regret," Christie wrote on Facebook.
The decision marks a sudden end for someone once seen as a potential front-runner. In the wake of the 2012 election, Christie appeared poised for a strong bid for the Republican nomination -- he won a second term as the Republican governor of a blue state and led the Republican Governors Association, giving him a perch to travel the nation fundraising for other Republicans and building his stature.
But shortly after he was elected to his second term in November 2013, he was engulfed by the "Bridgegate" scandal. Emails and texts from top aides show they requested that two lanes onto the George Washington Bridge be shut down in September 2013, causing massive traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey, after the town's Democratic mayor declined to endorse Christie's re-election.
A federal investigation determined that Christie had no knowledge of the decision to close the lanes, but the political damage was real. By the time he announced his bid at the end of June 2015, the damage from "Bridgegate" had many wondering whether his campaign was dead from the start.
But Donald Trump's ascendance over the summer quickly sucked the air out of the room for almost any other political narrative, including "Bridgegate."
Christie, meanwhile, embarked on a tenacious strategy focused almost exclusively on winning New Hampshire. By February 8, he had made 190 stops in New Hampshire, more than any other candidate, according to NECN's candidate tracker.
That attention to the first-in-the-nation primary state paid off in December, when Christie won the endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader. At the same time, he won 2016's somewhat informal mark of arrival — withering attacks from Trump.
Christie often talked of his personal experience on September 11, 2001, waiting anxiously for his wife to return from lower Manhattan. But after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino last year, Christie began telling that personal story more, as well as playing up his experience as a federal prosecutor immediately after September 11.
But he still faced fallout among the Republican primary electorate after his warm welcoming of Obama in October 2012, after Hurricane Sandy walloped his state.
When pollster Frank Luntz replayed clips of the meeting for a focus group in New Hampshire, after the first Republican debate, Republicans in the room said they were still unhappy, three years later.
Throughout the race, Christie stood out for his blunt statements and a seeming inability to sugarcoat his assessments of the competition -- and by February, Marco Rubio was bearing the brunt of it.
As the field moved from Iowa to New Hampshire, Rubio became the star following a breakout performance in the caucuses. But many candidates, including Christie, Jeb Bush and John Kasich had pinned their hopes on New Hampshire.
Christie took to mocking Rubio's scripted style and work in Washington, calling him the "boy in the bubble" because, according to Christie, the Florida senator was too protected by staff.
In the eighth Republican debate, just a few days before the New Hampshire primary, it was Christie who knocked the air out of Rubio -- and claimed his putdown as enough to earn a ticket out of New Hampshire.
"I think the whole race changed last night. Because you know there was a march among the chattering class to anoint Sen. Rubio," Christie told Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" one day after the debate. "I think after last night, that's over. So I think there could be four or five tickets out of New Hampshire because the race is so unsettled now."
