Christie says he’s in GOP race out of principle: ‘Everyone is a long shot in this race but Donald Trump’

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie admitted that the Republican primary race is former President Donald Trump’s to lose, saying he will not step aside prematurely out of principle.

“When I got into the race, I said everybody is an underdog,” Christie told Morning Joe. “And that’s why this kind of sophistry about who should get out of the race is kind of ridiculous. In the end, everyone is a long shot in this race but Donald Trump on the Republican side if you believe the polling. So, the question is: Who is standing on principle? Who’s going to do what’s right for the party?”

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Christie argued that as Trump’s legal battles play out amid the 2024 campaign season, voters will “need an alternative” candidate.

“At some point as this stuff starts to fall apart, the Republican voters are going to need an alternative who has made it very clear that they’re against Donald Trump and that they predicted this was going to happen all along,” Christie said. “And I’ve been saying it ever since I got into the race unlike anybody else in the race.

“I view this as a fight not only for the soul of my party but for the soul of our country,” he added. “Who are we going to be? What kind of government do we want? And so, why should that fight be determined by polls? I’d rather have people vote.”

The former New Jersey governor also contended that he has not yet been deemed out of the race, but he would reevaluate his campaign should that time come.

“I’ve won, and I’ve lost,” Christie said. “Winning’s better, but I know when I’m losing.”

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Trump is facing numerous roadblocks in his bid for another presidential term, including efforts to remove him from primary ballots, several lawsuits, and 91 felony charges.

Trump, however, continues to poll more than 50 points ahead of fellow candidates Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and nearly 60 points ahead of Christie, according to FiveThirtyEight polling.