New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who announced last week that he won't seek the Republican nomination for president, endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today.
“America cannot survive another four years of Barack Obama,” Christie said during a joint news conference with Romney this afternoon in Lebanon, N.H.
Christie, who anounced last week that he wouldn’t run in the 2012 presidential race, cited Romney’s experience as a former governor of Massachusetts and as a venture capitalist.
Romney is “an executive who has used executive power,” Christie said. The endorsement was “an easy decision for me,” he said.
Christie's announcement came just hours before a debate of Republican presidential candidates in Dartmouth, N.H., tonight.
The New Jersey governor's endorsement adds another element to analysts' observations last week that Romney would benefit most from Christie's decision not to seek the GOP nod.
“There’s no question Romney is breathing the biggest sigh of relief,” Larry Sabato, the well-respected director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics told
Newsmax at the time. “Christie would have split the more moderate vote in New Hampshire — an absolutely essential state for Romney to win.”
Now that Christie is endorsing Romney, many of his donors and Christie's tea party connections are expected to gravitate toward Romney, political analysts said.
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