Christie, Fiorina Drop Their Bids for the Presidency

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have dropped from the Republican Presidential primary.

Christie in his concession speech Tuesday night told his supporters he was returning to New Jerse to evaluate the results, rather than continuing on to South Carolina. The final results had him in sixth place well below the frontrunner Donald Trump and a list of contenders.

Christie had some great debate moments but was never able to gather momentum between debates. Some have speculated that his photo op hugging Barack Obama after hurricane Sandy angered the Republican base (and may have assisted in re-electing Obama).

Also an accusation (never substantiated) labeled “Bridgegate” lingered over Christie, an episode where people in Christie’s administration allegedly closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge to annoy Democratic mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee.

He announced via his Facebook page last evening, concluding with:

“And so today, I leave the race without an ounce of regret. I’m so proud of the campaign we ran, the people that ran it with me and all those who gave us their support and confidence along the way. Mary Pat and I thank you for the extraordinary display of loyalty, friendship, understanding and love.”

Ms. Fiorina, who finished seventh, end her campaign as well. After being excluded from last week’s debate due to low polling numbers, her last opportunity for a major push vanished.

She showed a great deal of promise and gained momentum in the first two Republican debates some months ago, however we noted after each debate that despite her excellent performances her campaign was never able to take advantage.

Her parting message: “While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them.”  

We wish them both luck.