November 6, 2024
Sununu says Christie ought to drop out earlier than New Hampshire major

Politics

Sununu, the state’s governor, expressed concern that Christie would pull assist from his most popular candidate, Nikki Haley.

Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador, in December.
Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley, the previous governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador, in December. Sophie Park/Getty Photos

Simply weeks earlier than New Hampshire holds its Republican presidential major, the state’s governor, Chris Sununu, mentioned Sunday that Chris Christie’s presidential bid was “at an absolute lifeless finish” and steered that he drop out to pave approach for Sununu’s most popular candidate, Nikki Haley.

Sununu, who in December endorsed Haley, the previous governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador, advised CNN that “the one particular person that wishes Chris Christie to remain within the race is Donald Trump.”

He framed the race as a “two-person contest” between Haley and Trump, whom she now trails in New Hampshire by a median of 20 proportion factors.

“There’s little doubt that if Christie stays within the race, the chance is that he takes her margin of the win,” Sununu mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

In a marketing campaign advert final week, Christie, former governor of New Jersey, explicitly addressed calls from some within the get together for him to drop out to consolidate assist round a non-Trump candidate. “Some folks say I ought to drop out of this race,” he mentioned. “Actually? I’m the one one saying Donald Trump is a liar.”

In response to Sununu’s remarks, a spokesperson for Christie’s marketing campaign doubled down on that message: “The occasions of the previous couple of days absolutely solidifies the purpose that Christie has been making for six months: that the reality issues, and if you happen to can’t reply the straightforward questions, you’ll be able to’t repair the large issues.”

Sununu’s feedback have been in response to questions from CNN anchor Dana Bash about Haley’s current gaffe involving the Civil Struggle, for which she has confronted vital criticism.

On Wednesday, when she obtained a query at a New Hampshire city corridor about the reason for the Civil Struggle, Haley’s reply didn’t point out slavery. The subsequent day, she walked again her remarks, telling a New Hampshire interviewer, “After all the Civil Struggle was about slavery.”

Sununu acknowledged that Haley had made a mistake in her remarks, however dismissed them as a “nonissue.”

Haley has made headway in New Hampshire in current weeks, climbing to a strong second place. (Christie is polling third within the state). However securing the nomination stays a frightening activity: She continues to battle DeSantis for second place in Iowa, and stays behind Trump, her former boss, in nationwide polls by round 50 factors.

This text initially appeared in The New York Occasions.