(UnitedVoice.com) – When the race for the Republican primary began, there was a lot of competition, with around a dozen candidates vying for the nomination. As is customary, as time passed, many began to drop out. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the most recent candidate to toss the towel in, but before he did, he failed to notice a hot mic and proceeded to slam his rivals.
Christie’s Comments
During a live stream that was planned to announce Christie’s resignation, the former NJ governor was talking to someone named Wayne, and the comments he made were captured on a live microphone.
Most of the comments were about former US Ambassador Nikki Haley and her campaign spending. He noted that she had spent $68 million on TV ads, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had spent $59, and he had only spent $12 million. When referencing those figures, he posed the question, “Who’s [fighting] above their weight, and who’s getting a return on their investment?” He then said she wasn’t up to the race and “she’s gonna get smoked.”
Christie’s comments got cut off when he was speaking about DeSantis, but he did mention that the Florida governor had called him and was “petrified.” What he was supposedly worried about isn’t clear. The audio of Christie’s statements went viral, with nearly 1 million people listening to the file posted by The Recount alone.
Chris Christie is caught on a hot mic ahead of his expected announcement that he's dropping out of the presidential race:
He says Nikki Haley is "gonna get smoked" and a "petrified" Ron DeSantis called him. pic.twitter.com/fGOFEtVDHn
— The Recount (@therecount) January 10, 2024
Who Is Left?
Despite Christie’s departure, there are still five candidates that are in the running. The most notable, of course, is former President Donald Trump. He is leading the race by quite a significant margin. According to FiveThirtyEight, as of January 12, Trump sits at 60.4% while DeSantis trolls far behind at 12.1%. Haley is in third place at 11.7%.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is also still in the race, but he’s lagging far behind at 4.3%. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has a mere 0.9%.
Only Haley and DeSantis appeared at the fifth Republican primary debate, however. Trump qualified for it but chose to host a Fox Town Hall instead. He has not appeared at any of the debates, insisting he’s so far ahead of the competition that he doesn’t need to.
The primary elections kick off on January 15 with the Iowa Republican caucus and go through June 4, when Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota hold their primaries. The nominee will be formally chosen in Milwaukee at the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for July 15 to 18.
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