Christie ends campaign for president

UPDATE: In a statement posted on Facebook, Chris Christie commented on his dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination for president, saying, “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.”

UPDATE (5 p.m.): Chris Christie’s campaign officially announced this afternoon that the New Jersey governor has ended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Campaign spokeswoman Samantha Smith told The Associated Press that Christie broke the news of his decision to staff at his campaign headquarters in Morristown, N.J., late this afternoon.

Christie also plans to call donors and supporters to give them the news.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3:50 p.m.): After getting disappointing results in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to drop out of the Republican presidential race later today. Despite a strong performance in the most recent GOP debate, Christie, who spent $18 million campaigning in New Hampshire, came in sixth place with just 7.5 percent of the vote.

Christie likely would not have met CBS News’ stricter criteria for participation in this weekend’s televised Republican debate, which might have played a role in his decision to drop out. As of today, it looks like Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson will qualify for the debate, though the lineup could change depending on poll results this week.

Christie’s presidential campaign followed his ascent to national notoriety as New Jersey’s governor. He became one of the political world’s first YouTube stars when video clips of his many town hall events went viral. His blunt, bold, charismatic style fascinated the public.

But in October 2012, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, many Republicans felt the governor went overboard with lavish praise of the Obama administration’s federal assistance for his stricken state. Conservatives in particular said Christie became a willing set piece for presidential photo ops in the crucial weeks before the 2012 election. And then after Christie’s overwhelming reelection as governor in 2013 came the Fort Lee lane-closure scandal involving the George Washington Bridge that links New Jersey to Manhattan.

Throughout his campaign, Christie emphasized his executive experience and his tough stance on national security. He frequently invoked his time as a federal prosecutor post-9/11, when he made cases against terrorists. But Christie struggled to find a niche in the GOP field. He was not as tough as Trump, not as religious as Rubio, and not as conservative as Cruz.

Tuesday night, Christie spoke with a tone of concession, saying he had “won elections I was supposed to lose, and I lost elections I was supposed to win. … It means you never know. It’s both the magic and the mystery of politics.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.