Islam Times - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally enters US presidential race

Islam Times - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie plans to formally enter the US presidential race for 2016, his campaign announced in an e-mail on Tuesday.

Christie, who has served as the governor of New Jersey since January 2010, will run as a Republican nominee for the White House.

He will become the 14th Republican candidate to enter the crowded 2016 presidential race.

On Saturday, Christie unveiled his presidential campaign site. A day later a short video was posted showing a more personal side of the governor in a town-hall style setting.

Christie’s decision to run for the presidency comes after months of speculation as to whether the governor would throw his hat into an already crowded field of GOP candidates.

In the most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll last month, 48 percent of Americans view Christie unfavorably, while 22 percent see him favorably.

Other Republican candidates include US Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul; former Florida governor Jeb Bush and billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump.

The New Jersey governor will enter the presidential race bearing little resemblance to the candidate he once expected to be.

Just three and a half years ago, Christie seemed so popular, compelling and formidable. But today, a staggering 55 percent of Republican primary voters say that they cannot envision voting for him, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll.

The 52-year-old politician has done little to lift New Jersey’s economy out of its economic depression.

Unemployment remains higher than the national average; economic growth lags most of the country; pension deficits, which led to repeated credit downgrades, remain startlingly deep; and major portions of the state’s transportation infrastructure are in tatters.