Christie follows Fiorina to quit US presidency race

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has ended his bid for the US presidency, further whittling a Republican field led by billionaire real estate tycoon Donald Trump.

Christie's exit on Wednesday came shortly after former Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina also quit the race after posting disappointing results in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivers the State of the State Address in the Assembly Chambers at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Trump's remaining opponents - Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Jim Gilmore, John Kasich and Marco Rubio, will likely benefit from their departures in a race that leaves seven
 Republicans in a field that once had 17 candidates.


Christie finished a disappointing sixth in New Hampshire, despite devoting nearly all of his campaign resources in the state, which is considered more friendly to moderate Republicans than Iowa, where the first in a series of state-by-state nominating contests is held.

"While running for president, I tried to reinforce what I have always believed - that speaking your mind matters, that experience matters, that competence matters and that it will always matter in leading our nation," Christie said in a Facebook post.

"That message was heard by and stood for by a lot of people, but just not enough and that's OK."
Christie, 53, scored perhaps his most triumphant moment on the campaign trail last weekend, when he attacked Republican rival Marco Rubio during a debate for robotically repeating his talking points.

The former federal prosecutor is a moderate Republican running a largely Democratic state who was once seen as one of the party's best hopes in 2016.