Christie supporters consider who to back now with former New Jersey governor out of the race

By Alison Main and Omar Jimenez, CNN

Windham, New Hampshire (CNN) — Some New Hampshire voters have an unexpected decision to make with less than two weeks to go until the first-in-the-nation primary: who to cast their ballots for on January 23 now that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has dropped out of the race.

It came as a shock to many of his loyal supporters, who had been urged to attend the event here where Christie, standing in front of an American flag backdrop inside a wedding venue, announced the ending of his campaign

“I can see it from some of the faces here that I’m disappointing some people by doing this, people who believe in our message and believe in what we’ve been doing,” he said.

One of those people was Tom Barton, who had made up his mind months ago that he would support the former New Jersey governor and said he was “very saddened” by the news.

“He said himself that he wasn’t going anywhere,” he said, explaining that he had thought it was possible Christie could drop out after the New Hampshire primary, depending on the outcome.

“If he did poorly in New Hampshire, I would have understood that. I didn’t quite understand that he did it this soon,” he continued.

Assessing his options, Barton says former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is another candidate he could see himself getting behind on January 23 “if she would stand up to Trump more.”

“I’ve gotta see her mentioning him by name,” he said of Haley, who has carefully balanced how she handles criticizing her one-time boss on the campaign trail, a topic that drew Christie’s ire.

The former New Jersey governor told his supporters, “Anyone who is unwilling to say that he is unfit to be president of the United States is unfit themselves to be president of the United States,” alluding to a criticism he previously lobbed at Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Still, it’s clear Haley is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of Christie’s exit. She has pulled within single digits of Trump in the Granite State, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire.

The survey found that 65% of Christie supporters – 12% of the total – listed Haley as their second choice.

Among that group is Chris Pease, a Christie supporter who now says he thinks Haley is “the best pathway to helping the country move forwards from Trump.”

Reflecting on Christie’s Wednesday night announcement, Pease said, “The timing was right.”

He had already had his concerns about effectively defeating the GOP front-runner, posing to Christie at a town hall in Hooksett the possibility of joining Haley’s ticket as vice president before the New Hampshire primary to “better serve the anti-Trump vote.”

“I would have more inclination to do that if Nikki would speak out against Trump, but she doesn’t,” Christie answered at the time, accusing Trump’s former UN ambassador of “playing for 2028.”

In the final stretch before the first-in-the-nation primary, Pease is encouraged that Haley has time now to reach out to the two-thirds of Christie supporters who are considering her.

“That’s a big step. All of those little steps that she’s taken so far maybe move the needle a little bit, but the needle has just moved by a big jump now,” he said.

However, Haley might not be able to move that needle with some loyal Christie supporters.

New Hampshire state Rep. Wayne MacDonald, who served as Christie’s campaign chairman in the Granite State, said it might take until election day for him to make his decision, but firmly declared on Wednesday, “I’m not going with Nikki Haley.”

“As Gov. Christie has said, she has pandered to Donald Trump,” he said, adding later that it was “highly unlikely” he could be convinced to support Haley.

Catherine Johnson, a volunteer for the campaign, said she respects Haley, but will not vote for her. She identifies politically as a Democrat, but is an undeclared voter and planned on voting for Christie in the primary because “he believes in the idea of working across the aisle.”

“I’m going to go work for the Democrats starting tomorrow,” she said after Christie left the room on Wednesday night.

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