Yahoo Finance Chris Christie Is Considering a 2024 Presidential Bid, Whether Trump Runs or Not: Report
Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Chris Christie
Chris Christie is mulling a 2024 presidential bid, according to a new report.
The 58-year-old former New Jersey governor is "seriously considering" running for the Republican nomination in three years, sources told the political news website Axios, which cites three people familiar with his plans.
A spokesperson for Christie did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Wednesday.
In December, Christie told radio host Hugh Hewitt he "would not" rule out the possibility of running again for the presidency.
He has most recently been working as a political commentator on ABC News after leaving public office in 2018.
Christie mounted an unsuccessful 2016 presidential run before bowing out early in the race and becoming one of the first prominent politicians to endorse the election's eventual winner, Donald Trump.
The New Jersey native led Trump's transition team into the White House in late 2016 and early 2017, but he never took an official role in the administration.
Christie remained in Trump's orbit, however, and became an adviser on the latter's 2020 campaign.
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Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty From left: Jared Kushner, Chris Christie and Donald Trump in 2017
He was hospitalized with COVID-19 shortly after helping Trump, 74, prepare for the first presidential debate last fall.
Christie subsequently broke from Trump after Trump refused to concede his election loss to Biden, 78. Christie called his legal challenges over the results and his conspiratorial claims about the loss a "national embarrassment."
For his part, Trump has also repeatedly teased a 2024 run, while Biden has already said he plans to run again for a second term.
According to Axios, Christie says his decision doesn't hinge on whatever Trump decides.
Axios reported that Christie believes he would stand out among Republican candidates and "has told friends that he'd be the only person in the 2024 field with executive experience who has run a presidential race before."
Christie's two terms as governor saw his popularity peak and then plummet by the end of his time in office, after his administration was marred by the so-called "Bridgegate" scandal and after he ran for the White House.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is widely speculated to also mount a 2024 run, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are also all among the current or former elected officials who are considered potential candidates.
