[11][12][13][14][15] In an interview on Fox News on March 31, 2014, Christie stated that he was still in "decision-making process" regarding a possible run in 2016, and forwarded the names of Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Paul Ryan as his top three GOP candidate choices.

[24] The political action committee Leadership Matters was launched January 25, 2015,[25] in order to raise funds and set the groundwork for what Time magazine called "a likely 2016 presidential campaign".

[26][27] The America Leads super PAC, headed by Phil Cox, was registered with the Federal Election Commission on February 23, 2015.

"[36] Greg Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions, chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, chair of the Rutgers board, and executive committee member of the Business Roundtable, was a member of the campaign's finance committee.

There have also been more than $800,000 in credit-card expenses related to political and private trips made by the governor,[40][41] which the administration has refused to make public.

[55][56][57] Christie was highly criticized for first not planning to return to New Jersey and then staying only briefly for the January 2016 United States blizzard.

[58] When asked why he was campaigning in New Hampshire when parts of the Jersey Shore were flooded in sea water Christie said: "What do you want me to do, go down there with a mop?

[62] A lawsuit which claimed that Christie "inappropriately forced New Jersey taxpayers to cover the cost of the governor's security and other key expenses while pursuing the presidency" was dismissed.

[79][80] In the February 6, 2016, GOP debate, Christie attacked Marco Rubio, who was polling in third place nationally, criticizing him for repeating his "25 second speech" and not getting to the issues at hand on the campaign trail.

His attacks, combined with a verbal gaffe by Rubio, were seen as a devastating blow to his campaign and contributed to his fifth-place finish in New Hampshire.

[84] Christie focused much of his campaign's effort in winning the New Hampshire Republican primary, for which a former Governor's Office staff member and political operative began working in winter 2014.

[99][100] Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman, a major contributor who served in the role of National Finance Co-chair for Christie's ill-fated campaign, called the endorsement "an astonishing display of political opportunism".

"[104] Former GOP Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman said the endorsement would make her consider voting for Hillary Clinton.

The papers Asbury Park Press, Courier-News (Bridgewater), The Courier-Post (Cherry Hill), Home News Tribune (East Brunswick), Daily Record (Morristown), The Daily Journal, (Vineland) in a joint editorial said: "We're fed up with his long neglect of the state to pursue his own selfish agenda.

We're disgusted with his endorsement of Donald Trump after he spent months on the campaign trail trashing him, calling him unqualified by temperament and experience to be president", the editorial read.

"And we're fed up with his continuing travel out of state on New Jersey's dime, stumping for Trump, after finally abandoning his own presidential campaign.

[117] In 2009, Christie identified himself as anti-abortion,[118] but stated that he would not use the governor's office to "force that down people's throats", while still expressing support for banning "partial-birth abortion", parental notification, and a 24-hour waiting period.

[121] In March 2015, Christie joined other potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in endorsing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Christie administration responded by asking the state Supreme Court to grant a stay of the decision pending appeal, which was denied on October 18, 2013, in a 7–0 decision of the court which stated that it could "find no public interest in depriving a group of New Jersey residents of their constitutional right to equal protection while the appeals process unfolds".

"[129] On August 19, 2013, Christie signed a bill outlawing gay conversion therapy for children, making New Jersey the second state to institute such a law.

[132] In a speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on April 14, 2015, Christie proposed significant reforms to federal benefit programs.

[134] Christie proposed comprehensive federal entitlement reforms, stating: "In the short term, it is growing the deficit and slowly but surely taking over all of government.

"[135] In 2009, Christie said of Sonia Sotomayor: "I support her appointment to the Supreme Court and urge the Senate to keep politics out of the process and confirm her nomination.

"[140] Christie supported changes in the criminal justice system which address disparities in sentencing, particularly for non-violent and drug-related crimes.

In it, Christie said that everyone he met in Israel during his visit, wanted America to be an "unblinking, unwavering unquestioning friend" but worried that this was no longer true.

Christie said he was overwhelmed by displays of religious tolerance during his recent trip to Jerusalem and used the term "occupied territories" in reference to lands in dispute.

Christie later apologized for the remark, which is rejected by some conservative Zionists and other supporters of Israel who see it as validating Palestinian views.

[148] Christie supported the collection of metadata of phone calls of American citizens and denizens by the National Security Agency.

"We prosecuted two of the biggest terrorism cases in the world and stopped Fort Dix from being attacked by six American radicalized Muslims from a mosque in New Jersey because we worked with the Muslim American community to get intelligence and we used the Patriot Act to get other intelligence to make sure we did those cases", Christie said.

[154] During his term as governor Christie has vetoed some proposed legislation, re-written others, and signed on bills regulating firearms.