NH Gov. Chris Sununu said Chris Christie was 'obsessed with being president' but offered a limited message during his campaign

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, left, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

• Chris Sununu told WaPo that Christie was “absolutely obsessed with being president.”
• But Sununu said Christie’s 2024 campaign had a limited message, forcing him to drop out.
• The NH governor is now backing Nikki Haley and campaigning with her statewide.

Before New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu threw his support behind Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, his endorsement in the critical early-voting state was highly coveted by a slew of GOP contenders.

Sununu, a Republican who has served as governor since 2017, made it clear he was looking to move on from former President Donald Trump as he spent time with the GOP candidates.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of the few GOP candidates willing to attack Trump, might have seemed like a good choice. But Sununu told the Washington Post that Christie failed to impress him.

Sununu told The Post that Christie, who suspended his campaign earlier this month, was “absolutely obsessed with being president” but had a limited message for voters.

Christie might have also overdone it on the Trump attacks as far as Sununu was concerned. Sununu has said he’d still back Trump over President Joe Biden should Haley end her presidential bid and the former president win the GOP nomination.

Christie had low double-digit support in New Hampshire before he left the race, but it was also the only state where he had any discernible support. That’s in part because of the state’s influential center-right bloc, which can sway elections in the state.

And even if Christie had picked up delegates in New Hampshire, he would have likely struggled in South Carolina and the Super Tuesday contests, where Trump has maintained dominant leads.