The race for the White House is getting even more crowded.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is set to jump in the Republican race for president during a town hall announcement scheduled in New Hampshire Tuesday night. Christie last ran for president in 2016 and served as New Jersey's governor from 2010 to 2018.
He will be just one of three candidates expected to join the race in the next 24 hours. Former Vice President Mike Pence has filed paperwork to run and is expected to make a formal announcement Wednesday in Iowa.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also expected to announce his presidential campaign this week. He previewed "Wednesday's big announcement" in a video posted Monday, saying, "We need new leadership for our changing economy."
Last time the presidential field got crowded on the Republican side was in 2015 when former President Donald Trump handily won the nomination. But most political analysts in Washington believe there are three different lanes to the Republican nomination this time around.
Trump is in lane one, as he holds — on average — a 30 point lead in the Republican primary polls. The second lane is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has consistently polled in second place and well above other Republican candidates. Then in the third lane is everybody else, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, among others. However, most candidates in the crowded Republican field have failed to emerge as significant contenders.
As far as the next big moment in this race, on paper it's the first debate scheduled to take place in Milwaukee on Aug. 23. A second night is possible if the debate stage is too crowded.
In order to qualify for the debate, candidates must consistently receive a minimum of 1% support in the polls and have at least 40,000 campaign contributors.
Joe St. George
