Christie Won't Run for President

UPDATE, 2 P.M.: Saying that "Now is not my time," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012. 

Standing at a podium in the Statehouse in Trenton, Christie said he believed he owed it to the people of New Jersey to continue as governor. "It's never felt right... to me in my gut to leave here when the job is not finished," he said.

But Christie did not rule out a run for the presidency in the future, telling an NBC News reporter that "I'm not going to preclude any job whether president or working at NBC."

The governor had repeatedly said he would not join the GOP campaign, but reports continued to surface in recent weeks that he was re-considering, under pressure from numerous Republican leaders unhappy with the current list of candidates. 

Christie said his wife and four children had been supportive in a possible campaign. "Mary Pat woke me up a few days ago at 6 o'clock in the morning and told me, 'If you want to go for it, go for it,'" he said.

He said other candidates did not make a presidential run appealing, saying that those who had lost described the experience as "a nightmare," while those who won agreed that it was "awful."

The governor didn't resist an opportunity to take a swipe at President Obama, saying the president had "failed the leadership test." But he said it was too early for him to make any endorsement of any of the current GOP contenders.

State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, D-West Deptford, said after Christie's press conference that it's time for the governor to get back to the business of New Jersey. 

“Thankfully, we can now move ahead and focus on the real issues that are impacting the people of this state," Sweeney said in a statement. "Unemployment here is above the national average, while more people, particularly children, are living in poverty. 

“We need focused leadership in New Jersey on the issues that are of the utmost importance to the middle class. Every moment of the governor's day needs to be focused on how we can get New Jerseyans back to work and how we can grow and aid our business community. I stand ready to work with this governor on doing just that.” 

State Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco, R-Franklin, called Christie "a man of his word."

"Despite enormous pressure from national and state political leaders, he has reaffirmed his commitment to the state of New Jersey and its residents by declining to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency," DiCicco said in a statement.

The nation "surely could use a leader of Gov. Christie’s caliber to lead our nation back to prosperity," DiCicco said. "At the same time, our nation’s loss is New Jersey’s gain. Our taxpayers have suffered for far too long under Democrat rule that has taxed and spent our state into fiscal crisis."

Christie said he had been amused by the attention he had received, including from comedians who made jokes about his weight. "It's fair game, they can make fun of it," Christie said, "provided it's funny." He said his son Andrew had even taken to showing him video clips of items he'd missed "So he's been grounded," Christie quipped.

The governor indicated he would not be interested in the GOP nomination for vice president, saying he did not see himself as a "Number Two kind of guy." 

The pressure has intensified in recent days for the governor to make a decision after both Florida and South Carolina moved up the dates for their party primary to January, leaving only three months of campaigning before the actual selection of delegates begins.

Christie's announcement comes the same day as a new poll shows him in fourth place nationally in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, business executive Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

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UPDATE, 11:45 a.m.: GOP sources in Westfield, home of many of Gov. Christopher J. Christie's top aides, tell Patch that the governor has decided against running for president, and will make an announcement to that effect at a press conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
 
Several national news organizations, including the Washington Post, CNN and ABC-News, were also reporting that the governor has decided not to be a candidate.

We will stream the governor's announcement on this Patch site, beginning at 1 p.m.

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Gov. Christopher J.  Christie has scheduled a press conference in Trenton for 1 p.m. Tuesday, with speculation building that he will announce whether he is launching a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

While the governor has repeatedly said in the past that he would not run, he has been under intense pressure from some within the Republican Party who are not satisfied with the current group of candidates. Numerous stories in the past week have claimed that he is reconsidering.

The governor needs to decide within the next few days, because the deadline is approaching for him to file as a candidate in several key GOP primaries, including South Carolina and Florida. Both of those states moved their primaries up to January and New Hampshire and Iowa are expected to follow suit, leaving only three months of campaigning before the start of the actual delegate selection process.

If Christie does decide to run, he will not have to step down as governor. His term in office does not expire until 2013, so if he loses the presidential race, he could still run for re-election.