Christie makes case for staying in the race: ‘The only candidate taking on Trump’

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie’s campaign is pitching the former New Jersey governor as a candidate ready for the long haul, even as former President Trump dominates the rest of the 2024 GOP field.

“As the only campaign taking Trump on directly, we plan to break last. And by running … lean efficiently now, Christie will have the resources necessary to seize the opportunity when it arrives,” reads a new 38-slide presentation laying out Christie’s plan to stay in the race and aim to gain steam as the field narrows. 

Christie’s team argued that other candidates’ strategies — which it described as “get to [Trump’s] right, run as [his] clone, ignore him, try to please everyone” — aren’t working.  

“The goal is to outlast,” reads another slide. 

Politico first reported on the slideshow, and Christie’s campaign confirmed to The Hill that the presentation was shared in recent weeks with the American Opportunity Alliance. 

Christie’s campaign has been “spartan,” working to bring in cash while keeping its burn rate low, the presentation said.

In the latest fundraising quarter, Christie’s campaign receipts came in at nearly $3.8 million, behind fellow GOP candidates including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and well behind Trump at the front of the pack.

“Trump’s conduct has proven that he is unfit to be president again. Chris Christie is the only one willing to make that case,” the presentation asserted. “While every other candidate is running for second place (or a spot in Trump’s cabinet), Christie is running to win by drawing a clear contrast.”

Christie has been an outspoken critic of the former president. While other candidates have also criticized Trump, Christie has been notably vocal, saying Trump’s lead over the field is “fatally flawed” and predicting the former president will be convicted in one of his legal battles.

During the second GOP presidential debate in September, Christie called out Trump directly for not being on the stage with his fellow candidates. 

Christie has said he’s qualified for the third debate in Miami next week. Trump is set to hold counterprogramming in Florida at the same time as his opponents take the stage.

FiveThirtyEight’s latest polling averages put Christie at 2.9 percent in the Republican primary, behind Haley at 7.6 percent and DeSantis at 12.8 percent — while Trump leads with 59.1 percent.