Christie suspends campaign

Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.), a Republican presidential contender, suspended his campaign Wednesday after a disappointing finish in the New Hampshire primary.

Christie announced the decision at a meeting with campaign staffers in Morristown, N.J. The governor, after placing sixth in the Granite State’s primary Tuesday night, had returned home to reevaluate his campaign.

{mosads}Christie is the second Republican casualty following New Hampshire. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina also suspended her campaign Wednesday.

Christie had pinned his hopes on New Hampshire and started to see momentum after landing a coveted endorsement from the influential New Hampshire Union-Leader.

He was competing against other establishment favorites, but found himself outperformed by Gov. John Kasich (Ohio), former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.), and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) on Tuesday night.

Kasich, who held more than 100 town halls, finished a strong second-place in the Granite State.

The outspoken Christie was seen as a rising GOP star earlier in his gubernatorial term. But he was hurt by the “Bridgegate” scandal, where close aides were accused of closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge to punish the leader of a small town who was a Christie critic.

Christie denied knowing about the aides actions, but the scandal took a toll on his approval numbers.

The governor also struggled with more conservative Republican voters, many of whom distrusted him after he embraced President Obama as the two toured the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Christie’s most memorable moment of the 2016 race though may be from his last debate on Saturday. He delivered a punishing attack on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), calling him out for repeating scripted lines.

Christie’s debate moment didn’t seem to give him a boost in the primary, but dealt a blow to Rubio, who finished a disappointing fifth.

If the New Jersey governor remained in the race, he likely would have failed to make the stage for Saturday’s GOP debate in South Carolina.

This story was updated at 5:51 p.m.