“Under cover of darkness,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie voted for Donald Trump on Tuesday, just after polls in the state opened at 6 a.m., according to NJ.com reporter Claude Brodesser-Akner.

Though Christie explained that he always votes in the morning, Akner noted that the governor’s subdued approach this Election Day was a sharp contrast to the last seven years, when Christie “never never voted without first notifying the press of his whereabouts, and taking questions from reporters.”

Fun fact: @GovChristie actually spent more time trying to peel off & affix his "I voted" sticker than he did speaking to reporters this a.m. pic.twitter.com/9hBRjBBLAk — Claude Brodesser (@ClaudeBrodesser) November 8, 2016

What, perhaps, was going through the governor’s mind?

In the first half of the decade, he was heralded as a rising star within the GOP. Even after the 2014 “Bridgegate” scandal threatened to end his political aspirations, Christie forged on and was frequently named a front-runner to become the 2016 Republican presidential nominee. (Here he is on the Nov. 23, 2014 cover of the New York Times Magazine.)

After joining the Republican Primary, the much-beleaguered candidate dropped out of the race in February — then promptly pledged his support for Donald Trump, an opponent who had frequently bashed him.

What a difference two years makes.