Time to 'pivot': What Chris Christie's 2024 exit means to his supporters

WINDHAM, N.H. – Choking back tears, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pointed to one of his most loyal supporters as he announced his exit from the 2024 Republican race Wednesday night.

Toni Pappas, a member of his steering committee, had texted Christie the night before pleading with the ex-prosecutor not to drop out of the GOP nomination fight, he told the crowd of less than 100.

“We need you,” she had said in the message.

It was a sentiment echoed by nearly all of Christie’s supporters in attendance at the New Hampshire town hall – even after he dropped out. In conversations with USA TODAY, many said they felt Christie had pulled the rug out from under them, leaving them scrambling for an alternative just two weeks before the state’s primary.

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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is widely expected to benefit most from Christie’s departure as she rushes to catch former President Donald Trump in the Granite State.

Recent polls show Haley within striking distance of the ex-president. And Christie’s roughly 12% support − now up for grabs − could push her over the line. Nearly half of the New Jersey politician’s New Hampshire supporters said they would pick Haley as their second choice in a USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday.

But attendees at the town hall said that outcome is far from a foregone conclusion and any candidate who wants their support is going to need to fight for it.

“I haven't made up my mind. I really haven’t done much research of the other candidates yet,” said Pappas, a longtime New Hampshire politico who helped with Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. “I have mixed emotions right now and I have to think this through.”

More: 'She's going to get smoked': Christie caught on hot mic ahead of exiting 2024 race

Christie voters search for new home

With tears streaming down her face, Michelle Lisowski, 59, described Christie’s departure from the race as “devastating.”

His candidacy was about “saving the country,” Lisowski, who has attended nearly all of Christie’s New Hampshire events over the last few months, said. “I don’t think anyone was better.”

Like many at Christie’s last town hall, the undeclared voter said she’s now hard-pressed to choose among the other candidates – describing Haley as untrustworthy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as too conservative and with “no words” for entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Mark McCabe, 64, told USA TODAY that the 2024 GOP contenders who are not named Trump will need to earn his support.

“It's time for me to go my homework, quite frankly,” McCabe, a quality engineer from Pelham, New Hampshire, said. “Because my hat doesn't go from Christie to anybody.”

While McCabe supported Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, as with many of Christie’s supporters, he said the ex-president no longer represents his “core values.” Christie’s opposition to Trump was a main driver of McCabe’s support for him, but few of the other candidates have attacked the business mogul with the same ferocity.

“I'm not ready to pivot and just give it to somebody else. My vote is worth something,” the military veteran said. “So who’s going to earn my vote?”

More: Chris Christie drops out of 2024 presidential race, issuing severe warning about Donald Trump

Only one Christie supporter USA TODAY spoke with said their vote in New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary would automatically go to Haley with Christie no longer in the race.

Like McCabe, Roy Williamson, 74, fervently opposes Trump. And the retired-computer programmer believes Haley has the best shot at beating the ex-president.

“I think she can take the most number of delegates away from Trump,” Williamson said. “Hopefully, she’ll win in New Hampshire.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Time to 'pivot': How heartbroken Christie voters say their evaluating the 2024 race