New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out after finishing sixth in New Hampshire with 7.4 percent of the vote. | Getty Christie drops out The New Jersey governor had made a big push in New Hampshire, but only mustered a sixth-place finish.

Chris Christie has suspended his presidential campaign.

The New Jersey governor posted on Facebook Wednesday afternoon to say he was leaving the race "without an ounce of regret," an announcement that followed an in-person meeting in Morristown where he thanked supporters and informed them of his decision, according to a campaign spokesperson.


Christie dropped out after finishing sixth in New Hampshire with 7.4 percent of the vote.

Christie had laid the groundwork for a hard push in New Hampshire long before the race kicked into high gear, but his candidacy was eclipsed by a large Republican primary field that sucked away voters from all angles. It was difficult for Christie to appeal to voters craving a blunt Republican with Donald Trump in the field. And for the voters looking to back an establishment-aligned candidate with political experience, Christie was crowded out by Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Christie's campaign hasn’t gone without some successful moments. A video clip of him talking about addiction went viral, shifting the national spotlight briefly to his campaign. In the second half of 2015, he started to pick up steam in New Hampshire and briefly looked destined to place the highest of any establishment candidate in that primary.

Ultimately he finished third of the three governors in the race, and looked like he might not make the cut for Saturday’s GOP debate. He caused a flurry of confusion on Tuesday night when he gave a concession speech that at first indicated he was dropping out. But clarified that he was going back to New Jersey to discuss the situation with his wife.

"Mary Pat and I spoke tonight and we've decided to go home to New Jersey tomorrow and we're going to take a deep breath and see what the results are tonight," Christie said. "By tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon we should know."

Christie added that after they know the results, "that should allow us to make a decision."

What little time Christie spent outside of New Hampshire was devoted to Iowa, where he filled his campaign team with veterans associated with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. While Branstad never endorsed before the Iowa caucuses, he appeared at campaign events alongside Christie. Still, it wasn’t enough; Christie finished the caucus near the bottom of the field, placing ahead of only former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who dropped out soon afterward, and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

Christie brushed off Iowa, saying New Hampshire had always been his true focus. But in the final few weeks of the New Hampshire primary, Christie's poll numbers dipped as the rest of the field began campaigning in the state.

Fundraising was never a strong point for Christie either. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Christie raised only $4.2 million and ended up with roughly $1 million cash on hand. By comparison, in the first three weeks of January alone, Christie faced $5.2 million worth of attacks ads, according to FEC data.

Ahead of the Christie campaign's impending end, at least one rival candidate praised the governor.

“I think that Chris did an amazing job in terms of the debate, as a prosecutor, and he’s a friend of mine,” Donald Trump said Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “And he actually called me last night, and we had a long talk, and he’s a little disappointed because he really did do a great job, he did an amazing job during that debate,” he added.