Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has filed paperwork formally launching his bid for the Republican nomination for president ahead of a New Hampshire town hall event Tuesday night.

Christie has cast herself as the only candidate in the field willing to take on the former president directly

Donald

Trump. The campaign will be the second for the former governor and federal prosecutor, who lost to Trump in 2016 and became a close on-and-off adviser before breaking with the former president over his refusal to publicize the results of the 2020 election. accept. .

Christie is entering a growing primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Former Vice President Mike Pence will formally launch his own campaign in Iowa on Wednesday.

Christie, who built a reputation during his time as governor of New Jersey as a fighter with a knack for creating viral moments of confrontation, faces an uphill battle for the nomination in a party that remains closely associated with the former president, despite Trump’s 2020 re-election loss and the Republicans’ worse-than-expected results in the 2022 midterm elections.

Christie has cast herself as the only person with the guts to take on Trump head-on and has warned of a 2016 repeat if candidates don’t confront him.

I’m not stupid. The way to win is to beat the man ahead. And what would such a campaign look like? A campaign would look like a direct frontal challenge to Donald Trump trying to return to the presidency, Christie recently said in a podcast interview.

Anti-Trump Republicans are especially eager to see Christie sparring with Trump on a debate stage, if, of course, Trump agrees to participate in primary debates and Christie meets the strict fundraising criteria set by the Republican National Committee for Participation.

But Christie has also said he wouldn’t run as a kamikaze candidate to take down Trump if he didn’t believe there was a viable path to his own victory. I am not a paid hitman, he recently told Politico.

His campaign will test the appetite of Republican voters for someone who has expressed support for many of Trump’s policies but has criticized the former president’s behavior.

Christie has rejected Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen and has urged the party to move on or risk future losses.

Other Republicans with similar views, including the former governor of Maryland. Larry Hogan and the Governor of New Hampshire. Chris Sununu, have voted against their own campaigns and expressed concern that Trump will only benefit if there are more candidates in the race.