Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will not seek a third-party bid for the White House, he announced Wednesday night, shutting down speculation.
Christie had been toying with a possible third-party run for the White House, and some suggested he run on a unity ticket put forward by No Labels.
He previously said he would only look into a third-party bid if he saw a path to clinch 270 electoral votes. The former GOP presidential candidate said Wednesday that he didn’t see a path forward.
“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten to pursue a third party candidacy,” Christie said in a statement, posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I believe we need a country that once again feels like everyone has a stake in what we’re doing and leadership that strives to bring people together, instead of using anger to divide us.”
“While I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward,” he added.
The Washington Post was the first to report Christie’s decision.
The former New Jersey governor ended his White House campaign ahead of the Iowa caucuses in January. Throughout his campaign, he continued to levy criticism from former President Trump and has since vowed to never support him.
His decision comes about a week after he said on “The Axe Files” podcast that he was not ruling out running on a potential No Labels ticket in November. He still expressed hesitancy toward the idea at the time, however, saying that “there are a number of hurdles to get over before I would actually consider running as a third-party.”
Christie, in a separate statement, said he was sad to hear of former Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) death, which was announced on Wednesday. Lieberman, the co-founder of No Labels, had previously floated Christie to run on the top of the organization’s ticket.
“I last spoke to him on Monday and he was fully engaged in a conversation of how to overcome the toxic political environment in our country. His whole life was dedicated to putting country before party in all he did,” Christie said on X, formerly Twitter.
The Hill has reached out to No Labels for comment.