The 2016 presidential campaign of Chris Christie, the 55th Governor of New Jersey, began on June 30, 2015, at an event in his hometown of Livingston, New Jersey. Following a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary, the campaign was suspended on February 10, 2016. He endorsed Donald Trump on February 26, 2016.

Background

Some political commentators viewed Christie as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. According to polls conducted after the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, which began in September 2013, Christie sustained a substantial erosion in his political standing and his 2016 presidential campaign prospects, and polls showed him behind Hillary Clinton in general election polling.

In an interview on Fox News on March 31, 2014, Christie stated that he was still in "decision-making process" regarding a possible run in 2016, and forwarded the names of Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Paul Ryan as his top three GOP candidate choices.

2012 presidential election Christie contemplated running for president in the 2012 election, but ultimately declined to do so. He was vetted, but not chosen, by Mitt Romney as a potential vice-presidential candidate. The Romney campaign was reported to have asked him to resign his governorship if he became the vice-presidential nominee because "pay-to-play" laws restrict campaign contributions from financial corporation executives to governors running for federal office when the companies do business with the governor's state. A memo from the campaign attributed Romney's decision not to choose Christie as his running mate in part to unanswered questions during the vetting process regarding a defamation lawsuit following Christie's initial campaign for Morris County Freeholder, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of Christie's brother, as well as his weight. Christie gave the keynote address at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Republican Governors Association

On November 21, 2013, Christie was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Christie campaigned extensively on behalf of Republican governors who were running for reelection, and for Republican gubernatorial candidates seeking to defend open seats or flip Democratic-held ones. The association raised $117 million during his chairmanship. The largest donors were Koch industries and David H. Koch, which together gave $3.5 million, and Sheldon Adelson, who donated $3.5 million. Christie's tenure as chairman was seen as successful, as Republicans held all of their 22 seats aside from Alaska and Pennsylvania, while picking up governorships in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts that had been previously held by Democrats.

Political action committees The political action committee Leadership Matters was launched January 25, 2015, in order to raise funds and set the groundwork for what Time magazine called "a likely 2016 presidential campaign". The America Leads super PAC, headed by Phil Cox, was registered with the Federal Election Commission on February 23, 2015. As of mid-July the latter had raised $11 million. As of December 2016 the organisation was still in operation. As of April 2017, the campaign still had outstanding debts.

Campaign launch Christie formally launched his 2016 presidential campaign on June 30, 2015, at his high school in Livingston, New Jersey. He had already launched his campaign website on June 27. At the announcement he stated that both political parties had "failed our country", and called for more compromise in politics. "I am now ready to fight for the people", Christie said in his announcement speech. "I am proud to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination for the presidency of the United States of America."

Christie began his campaign with a stop in Maine where he met with Maine Governor Paul LePage, who was the first sitting Republican governor to offer an endorsement for any of the party's 2016 presidential candidates. Calling LePage's endorsement an honor, Christie said, "To receive an endorsement from someone who knows what it's like to run a blue state, who knows what it's like to make tough decisions, who knows what it's like to engage in hand-to-hand combat to try to get things done for the people who elect you – to get an endorsement from Paul LePage today is an incredible honor."

Greg Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions, chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, chair of the Rutgers board, and executive committee member of the Business Roundtable, was a member of the campaign's finance committee.

New Jersey

State Police security detail

Christie has said that his campaign will not reimburse the state for the tax-payer funded New Jersey State Police security detail which travels with him on campaign trips.

Between 2010 and 2014, the state police billed the state $1 million. There have also been more than $800,000 in credit-card expenses related to political and private trips made by the governor, which the administration has refused to make public. Costs to taxpayers for the first quarter of 2015 were $185,000.

"We're going to continue to conduct this in the same way I've always conducted it", Christie said. New Jerseyeans are overwhelmingly opposed to paying for the Executive Protection Unit for Christie's campaign.

Christie regularly makes use of the state police helicopter for official and unofficial business, for which his campaign partially reimburses the state.

The New Jersey Senate was considering a bill which would require reimbursement of "expenses incurred for travel, food, lodging, security, or any other purposes not directly related to the Governor's regular and official duties as Governor" when traveling out of state to engage in political activities. Christie and his campaign are being sued by three advocacy organisations (New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey Families Alliance and BlueWaveNJ) as well as several New Jersey residents who cite his absenteeism from the governorship and misuse of funds.

After withdrawing from the race, Christie continued to travel to campaign for Trump. In the first quarter of 2016 travel costs for the security detail were $170,000, a considerable drop.

Absence from state Christie was absent from New Jersey 261 days in 2015. Christie was highly criticized for first not planning to return to New Jersey and then staying only briefly for the January 2016 United States blizzard. When asked why he was campaigning in New Hampshire when parts of the Jersey Shore were flooded in sea water Christie said: "What do you want me to do, go down there with a mop?" Records show 190 full days and 71 partial days in 2015 cost NJ taxpayers about $614,000. The final quarter of 2015, when Christie spent 32 days out of state campaigning for the presidency, cost $193,890. The bills totaled cost $492,420 in 2014, $220,355 in 2013; $248,277 in 2012; $129,842 in 2011 and $64,975 in 2010, which did not include the cost of overtime for the State Police troopers in EPU, which according to state regulations is confidential. A lawsuit which claimed that Christie "inappropriately forced New Jersey taxpayers to cover the cost of the governor's security and other key expenses while pursuing the presidency" was dismissed.

Approval ratings In December 2015/January 2016 Christie's approval ratings in New Jersey dropped to their lowest ever during his tenure to 31%.

Debates Polling had created uncertainty about Christie qualifying for participation in the jointly sponsored Fox News-Facebook Republican Party presidential debate, the first of the election cycle, on August 6, 2015, which allows for the 10 highest-polling politicians to participate. Christie claimed he would qualify. The methodology used for inclusion is not known. Christie placed ninth in the polls, qualifying for a place. Christie's average standing in polls conducted after the debate raised questions as to whether he would be permitted to participate in the main stage CNN primetime debate in September. Christie ranked 10th in qualifying polls. Christie did not have the necessary 2.5% standing to participate in the November main stage event, but with 1% qualified for the earlier undercard debate event. A rapid improvement his poll numbers however saw him being propelled back to the main stage for the debate on December 15. Christie made debatable claims in the January 14, 2016, debate. In the February 6, 2016, GOP debate, Christie attacked Marco Rubio, who was polling in third place nationally, criticizing him for repeating his "25 second speech" and not getting to the issues at hand on the campaign trail. His attacks, combined with a verbal gaffe by Rubio, were seen as a devastating blow to his campaign and contributed to his fifth-place finish in New Hampshire. Christie placed sixth.

Iowa and New Hampshire

He spent considerable time in Iowa in 2014 laying groundwork. He had little expectation to win. He placed 10th in a field of 12 candidates with 1.8% of the ballots cast. Having claimed he would be "number one" of the state governors running, he came in 4th.

Christie focused much of his campaign's effort in winning the New Hampshire Republican primary, for which a former Governor's Office staff member and political operative began working in winter 2014. On January 4, 2016, at his campaign headquarters in New Hampshire Christie said "I'm going to be up here until Wednesday night. We'll take a short break, go back home, deliver the State of the State address the week after next in New Jersey, and then come back out on the road again". Christie campaigned extensively using a town meeting format, but in polls before the primary he slipped and fell behind. He spent 70 days in the state. In the New Hampshire debate he attacked candidate Marco Rubio. He placed sixth in a field of nine in the New Hampshire primary on February 9.

Trump endorsement

Christie endorsed Donald Trump on February 26, 2016 and began campaigning for him.

Following the announcement, the publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader, which had endorsed Christie, said that Christie had committed to him that he would never endorse Trump. A few days later the paper ran an editorial which stated that it had been wrong to endorse Christie.http://www.unionleader.com/An-Editorial-Joseph-W-McQuaid-Publisher-Christie-was-our-bad-choice Watching Christie kiss the Donald's ring this weekend — and make excuses for the man Christie himself had said was unfit for the presidency — demonstrated how wrong we were. Rather than standing up to the bully, Christie bent his knee. Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman, a major contributor who served in the role of National Finance Co-chair for Christie's ill-fated campaign, called the endorsement "an astonishing display of political opportunism". The New York Times called the new relationship with Trump "a bully bromance".

Of the endorsement, Governor of Ohio John Kasich, the only governor left in the Republican presidential nominee field, said he was "a little bit surprised" and "it happens". Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley said "Chris is a dear friend but none of us understands why he did this." Former GOP Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman said the endorsement would make her consider voting for Hillary Clinton. Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker, who had endorsed Christie, said he was surprised and "I don't believe that his endorsement of Donald Trump says much of anything of why I chose to endorse him."

On March 2, 2016, six New Jersey–based Gannett Company-owned newspaper called for Christie's resignation. The papers Asbury Park Press, Courier-News (Bridgewater),