"I'm suspending my campaign tonight for president of the United States," Christie said during remarks in the state of New Hampshire.
Christie said he suspended his campaign because there is no "clear path" for him to win the Republican nomination in the US presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump holds an overwhelming lead over his Republican colleagues in the run for the party's nomination.
The former New Jersey governor did not offer his endorsement of another 2024 presidential candidate but did vow that he would not "enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that's more important than my own personal ambition."
As political insiders had made known that it was understood Christie would likely not gain the 2024 nomination ahead of fellow runner-up contenders former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calls for him to end his campaign had recently seen an uptick over the last several weeks.
The Wednesday announcement, however, was largely overshadowed by a hot-mic incident prior to the town hall event in which he spoke about Haley and DeSantis, saying the former UN diplomat was "going to get smoked." Regarding the Florida governor and just before the mic was cut off, Christie was caught saying he was "petrified."
The decision came on the heels of widely disappointing polling figures. Some 65% of polled Christie supporters previously indicated their second presidential pick would be Haley.