By Matt Rooney
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A new Morning Consult poll dropped Tuesday found no interest among Republican primary voters for a hypothetical Christie 2024 campaign. And by “no interest,” I mean he didn’t register. At all.
Donald Trump easily topped the field with 54% support followed by 12% for Mike Pence; Nikki Haley (6%), Donald Trump, Jr. (6%), Mitt Romney (4%), and Ted Cruz (3%) rounded out the second tier.
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The former New Jersey governor failed to register at all in the 11% “other” category where Charlie Baker, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Larry Hogan, Kristi Noem, Mike Pompeo, Tim Scott, and Rick Scott were all named.
Christie isn’t alone in being snubbed; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t appear in the poll, and many consider him to be an emerging top tier option for the GOP given Florida’s relative success in protecting seniors from COVID-19 without sabatoging its own economy.
The margin of error for the February 14-15 poll of 600 Republican was +/-4%.
Christie was routed in an ill-fated 2016 presidential bid and was forced to drop out after New Hampshire despite being an early favorite for the nomination. He ultimately endorsed Donald Trump but failed to land a preferred administration role. Following Trump’s 2020 election loss, Christie ramped up his criticism of the former president in what most consider an attempt to reposition himself as a more palatable to the middle Trump in alternative for 2024.
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