Although governor reconsidered making a run, Christie to announce he has decided not to seek GOP nomination Watch video
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie will announce today that he won't run for president, a source close to the governor confirmed, ending a week of questions over whether he would make a last-minute bid for the White House.
For the past week, speculation has swirled that Christie would reverse more than a year of denials and enter a crowded Republican presidential primary. But the plan for today's Statehouse press conference, announced by the governor's office this morning, immediately set off speculation that Christie will not run.
Unhappiness with the current Republican field for president has left donors and strategists knocking on Christie's door — both figuratively and literally -- to try to entice him to running.
Mounting a campaign this late in the game — after several candidates have already got a jump start and two clear frontrunners have been established — would be a difficult undertaking.
After months of speculation waning and waxing, it reached its peak this week after Christie gave a headline speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., last week.
Christie used the speech to strike out at President Obama. When asked repeatedly whether he would run for president, Christie delicately danced around the question. He referred people to a video of him saying no but didn't use his frequent lines of denial.
Later in the week, a source close to the governor confirmed he was rethinking making a run.
At three public appearances, two in New Jersey and one in Louisiana, in the interim, Christie did not take any questions and ignored shouts from reporters asking whether he would run.
News that Christie might shift course drew a loud response from the political establishment, including conservative pundits who pushed for a campaign and others who said he was too liberal to compete in the Republican primary.
By Chris Megerian and Ginger Gibson/Statehouse Bureau
More coverage:
• Hints to Chris Christie's future may lie in Woodrow Wilson's past
• Chris Christie's record comes under scrutiny from Washington pols and pundits
• As Chris Christie considers presidential run, past contests provide clues into governor's thinking
• Christie's window of opportunity is getting smaller, experts say
• Gov. Christie slams Obama, talks foreign policy during Reagan Library speech
• Gov. Chris Christie to donors: I'm not running for president
• Gov. Christie won't enter presidential race, his brother insists
