Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he’ll do whatever he can to stop former President Donald Trump from serving another term in the White House, even if that means running on a third-party ticket after failing badly in his attempt to wrest the Republican nomination from Mr. Trump.
Speaking Thursday on the podcast “The Axe Files,” hosted by David Axelrod, former adviser to former President Barack Obama, Mr. Christie said he is not ruling out running on a No Labels ticket against Mr. Trump and President Biden.
“I think the way I would look at it is, I will do whatever I can to try to make sure that the country doesn’t go through what I think will be the misery of a second Trump term,” Mr. Christie said.
Mr. Christie, who dropped out of the GOP primary race in January, said there’s a lot to consider when it comes to running as a third-party nominee.
“There’s a lot between actually running yourself and nothing,” Mr. Christie said. “But I wouldn’t preclude anything at this point. I would just say that there are a number of hurdles to get over before I would actually consider running as a third-party [candidate].”
In the past, the former governor has called the No Labels effort “a fool’s errand.” But since dropping out of the primary race, he seems to be singing a different tune.
“Oh, I don’t know. There’d be a long conversation between me and [my wife] Mary Pat, I can guarantee you that,” he said on “Good Morning America” last month when asked if he would consider running with No Labels.
At the time, he said he hadn’t been approached by the independent group, but reports said the group had spoken to his allies to gauge his interest.
No Labels organizers have pushed to qualify for more and more states’ ballots, but the group keeps getting turned down when it targets an actual standard-bearer.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination earlier this month, has shut down any consideration of running with No Labels. Centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has declined to be part of the ticket, even after announcing he was retiring from Congress. Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, like Mr. Christie an anti-Trump Republican, rejected the ticket offer Monday.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had teased his own run with No Labels and stepped down from the group’s leadership in January, has switched his focus to running as a Republican for an open Senate seat in Maryland.
The Washington Times has contacted No Labels for comment.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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