New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie drops his bid for the White House. (File Photo)
As New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie drops his bid for the White House, he returns home to a litany of fiscal problems and a political scene focussed on who will replace him in two years.
A senior Christie aide told Reuters on Wednesday the governor would end his run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination after placing sixth in the New Hampshire primary election on Tuesday.
At home, the lame-duck governor faces a crowded and decaying transportation system, underfunded public pensions and the second-lowest state credit rating in the nation.
Among New Jerseyans, there are two schools of thought about what will happen next, said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.
The optimistic view is that Christie tries to cement his legacy by pushing new policies and making deals with Democrats, much as he did earlier in his governorship.
The more pervasive view, however, is that the Democratically controlled legislature focuses on finding a successor to Christie, who then stops collaborating with Democrats because he still pines for higher Republican office someday.
"And a lot of the big issues in New Jersey will remain unresolved, kicked down the road and piled on the doorstep of the next governor," Dworkin said.
While unemployment in New Jersey is down, the state's recovery of jobs lost during the recession lags both neighbouring states and the nation overall.
Foreclosure rates are among the highest in the United States. Areas around distressed gambling hub Atlantic City and Trenton, the state capital, top US metropolitan foreclosure rates.
Atlantic City continues to slide towards insolvency, and legislation that Christie touted a month ago as a solution has yet to be introduced.
Criticized for spending more than half of his time in 2015 out of state, mostly campaigning, Christie's downfall is significant given that he had been among the Republican Party's brightest hopes.
His shine was dulled by the so-called Bridgegate scandal in 2013. Prosecutors say lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest, were payback for a New Jersey mayor who refused to endorse Christie's re-election bid.
Christie denied involvement, but two of his former officials go on trial May 16.
Polls indicate only about a third of New Jersey voters approve of the job he's done. Christie's second term ends January 2018.
"He's going to have to do something to really generate more good will," said Krista Jenkins, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "Him returning is not going to be sufficient for people to suddenly have a different opinion of him."
© Thomson Reuters 2016