{"id":9619,"date":"2024-01-12T16:18:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T16:18:27","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"On-the-trail-53669600\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=9619","title":{"rendered":"On the Trail (From Iowa):\u00a0Christie\u2019s departure expected to give Haley a bigger boost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Republican
Republican presidential candidate former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announces he is dropping out of the race during a town hall campaign event Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Windham, N.H. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Nikki
Nikki Haley campaign signs stand in a snowbank in Waukee, Iowa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Nikki
Nikki Haley takes a photo with voters in Ankeny, Iowa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Ron
Ron DeSantis takes a photo with a supporter in\u00a0Ankeny, Iowa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Snow
Snow covers the ground in Ankeny, Iowa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Republican
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley departs after speaking at Toast in Ankeny, Iowa, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

How much Chris Christie\u2019s 2024 exit is impacting the race for the Republican presidential nomination depends on where you are.<\/p>\n

On the day after he dropped out, the candidate who benefited most from the former New Jersey governor\u2019s departure \u2013 former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley \u2013 didn\u2019t mention the news as she spoke at a campaign event in the suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa\u2019s capital and largest city.<\/p>\n

Christie brought his bid for the White House to a close on Wednesday evening, as he spoke at a campaign event in Windham, New Hampshire. Just as he did in his first presidential campaign eight years ago, Christie had placed all his chips on the Granite State.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear to me tonight that there isn\u2019t a path for me to win the nomination,\u201d Christie said as he suspended his campaign.<\/p>\n

Christie, a long-shot for the nomination in a race dominated by former President Donald Trump, in recent weeks had faced increased calls from fellow Republicans and some voters to end his bid to give Haley a boost as she aims to close the gap with Trump. Haley has soared in recent months, catching up to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a distant second place to Trump in Iowa and national surveys. She\u2019s surged in polls in New Hampshire, standing alone in second place and narrowing the gap with Trump.<\/p>\n

Christie, a one-time ally of the former president, became one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the right thing for me to do,\u201d Christie said.\u00a0\u201cBecause I want to promise you this \u2013 I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again. And that\u2019s more important than my own personal ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he dropped out, Christie took some shots at Haley.<\/p>\n

Ahead of his announcement, Christie was heard on a microphone, apparently without knowing it, saying that Haley was \u201cgonna get smoked\u00a0by Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not up for this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Christie also took two digs at Haley during his speech.<\/p>\n

He mentioned the Civil War, saying \u201cwhich we know was caused by slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haley sparked controversy late last month when failing to mention slavery when answering a question about the causes of the Civil War. Both Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another top rival for the nomination, had repeatedly criticized Haley for her omission.<\/p>\n

Christie\u00a0once again criticized Haley, who along with nearly all the other presidential candidates on the stage at the first GOP primary debate in August, raised their hands when asked if they\u2019d support Trump as their party\u2019s nominee even if he was convicted in court. Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson were the only two candidates not to raise their hands.<\/p>\n

After her event in Ankeny, Haley acknowledged speaking to Christie after his announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did talk to him [Christie] this morning and just told him I appreciated his \u2026 commitment to this race,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cBut no, we didn\u2019t ask him for an endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christie\u2019s departure will likely have little impact in Iowa, where Monday\u2019s caucuses lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar. Christie never campaigned in the state this cycle, shunning Iowa\u2019s conservative Republican electorate and instead concentrating on New Hampshire, where independent voters and moderates have long played a crucial role in the state\u2019s storied primary.<\/p>\n

A poll from Suffolk University indicated Christie\u2019s departure had a negligible impact on the race in Iowa, with Haley gaining just two points. But if she edges DeSantis on Monday, those two points could be crucial.<\/p>\n

Weather appears to be a much bigger story right now in the Hawkeye State, with blizzard conditions and nearly a foot of new snow on Friday bringing campaign trail activity almost entirely to a halt.<\/p>\n

Haley canceled her in-person events and held tele-town halls. The rough road conditions didn\u2019t stop DeSantis from making it to his first event on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really impressed that so many people came out, given the weather,\u201d DeSantis said to the crowd that came to hear him and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds \u2013 who\u2019s backing him \u2013 speak at a meeting of the Northside Conservatives Club.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, DeSantis told a reporter that \u201cwe want people to be safe\u201d in the tough weather conditions. But he pledged \u201cI\u2019m going to show up,\u201d and emphasized that with the clock ticking toward the caucuses, \u201cI\u2019m going to use every minute I can to be able to win votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

An hour later his remaining four stops in northern, central and eastern Iowa, which were being organized by Never Back Down, his aligned super PAC, were postponed.<\/p>\n

While the snow is forecast to ease up over the weekend, temperatures are expected to plunge below zero and stay in the negatives through Tuesday, which could lower turnout at Monday night\u2019s caucuses.<\/p>\n

As for Christie\u2019s departure, it will have a much bigger impact in New Hampshire, where he was polling between 9 and 12 percent in the latest surveys. And those same surveys suggested that many \u2013 but not all \u2013 of Christie\u2019s supporters will flock to Haley.<\/p>\n

But sources in Christie\u2019s political orbit say not to expect any endorsement in the primary battle anytime soon.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How much Chris Christie\u2019s 2024 exit is impacting the race for the Republican presidential nomination depends on where you are.On the day after he dropped out, the candidate who benefited most from the former New Jersey governor\u2019s departure \u2013 former…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":9620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=489]Paul Steinhauser[\/Author] For the Monitor","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,508],"tags":[262,505,25],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[547],"class_list":["post-9619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-top-headlines-cm","tag-on-the-trail","tag-paywall","tag-primary-2024","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/42681672-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9621,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9619\/revisions\/9621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9619"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=9619"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=9619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}