Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is weighing a third presidential campaign in 2028, arguing that Republicans must abandon President Trump after suffering substantial losses in the midterm elections. In an interview with Politico on Wednesday, Christie said he would decide within months whether to enter the race.
Christie, who ran for president in 2016 and 2024, positioned himself as the most credible Republican alternative to Vice President Vance, citing his willingness to criticize Trump throughout the president's second term. He dismissed Vance's recent statement blaming the GOP's midterm defeats on the Iran war, a conflict the vice president has publicly supported.
"The vice president to me has no credibility. He's been sitting in the White House now for the last two years," Christie told Politico. "[I] haven't heard him say a negative word, you know, until this past Wednesday, and he limited it just to the war in Iran, which is not the only problem we have here."
During his 2024 campaign, Christie was one of the few Republicans who directly challenged Trump, urging the party to nominate someone else. He declined to endorse any candidate after dropping out. Now, he says the GOP must chart a new course. "The Trump era is over," he told Politico. "We need to look forward to new leadership in our party and our country."
The midterm losses, combined with Trump's unpopularity, have prompted some Republicans to distance themselves from the president ahead of the 2028 primaries. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, typically a Trump ally, called the results a "rebuke" of the president. Christie accused DeSantis of opportunism. "I think the governor is getting ready to leave office, and he's looking for a way to be relevant," Christie said. "And I think he looks like he's talking out of both sides of his mouth."
Other Republicans have also offered post-election critiques. Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn criticized their party's messaging and urged a sharper focus on cost-of-living issues. Their home state saw major Democratic upsets on Tuesday as Democrats swept statewide races. Cruz, a former presidential candidate, is considered a possible 2028 contender.
The jockeying for the next presidential election is already underway, with candidates potentially announcing bids in the coming weeks or months. In 2022, Trump launched his re-election campaign immediately after the midterms. As the GOP grapples with its direction, the battle for RNC leadership and the midterm landslide have intensified the internal debate over Trump's hold on the party.
Christie's potential candidacy would test whether Republican primary voters are ready to move on from Trump. His consistent criticism of the former president has won him plaudits from anti-Trump Republicans but has also made him a target of the party's base. Whether he can translate that into a viable campaign remains an open question.
