Chris Christie May Not Appear on Republican Primary Ballot in Maine

Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

New Jersey’s former governor and current GOP presidential candidate, Chris Christie (R-N.J.), is not on Maine’s March 5, 2024, primary ballot, according to an announcement from the Secretary of State.

In a Dec. 1 press release from the Maine Secretary of State announcing the list of candidates on the primary ballot, Mr. Christie and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) were the only GOP candidates still in the presidential race missing from the list. Marianne Williamson was also absent from the Democratic ballot.

As of Dec. 4, Democrats President Joe Biden and Dean B. Phillips are on the Maine primary ballot. Meanwhile, Republican candidates Doug Burgum, Ryan Binkley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and former president Trump have qualified to be on the ballot.

According to state law, candidates must submit 2,000 petition signatures to be placed on the Maine ballot. Maine officials revealed that the Christie campaign only received 844 valid signatures in the state, failing to hit the target by the Dec. 1 deadline.

However, Mr. Christie has refuted the claim that his campaign failed to reach 2,000 signatures and has reportedly filed an appeal in the courts to fight the decision, with a final verdict expected in the coming days.

A spokesperson for Mr. Christie’s campaign told CBS News, “The campaign collected and submitted over 6,000 signatures. This is simply a procedural issue with the way they reviewed signatures and is under appeal.”

What could this mean for Mr. Christie’s campaign going forward is unclear. The Epoch Times has contacted Mr. Christie for further comment.

Known as Super Tuesday, which sees the most state primaries or caucuses on a single day during the election season, Maine’s presidential election contests are locked in for March 5 next year.

Chris Christie Still Determined to Stay in Presidential Race

Mr. Christie’s being left off the Maine primary ballot could cause complications for his presidential bid. He previously announced he is determined to stay in the 2024 election race, regardless of what happens in upcoming primaries. Mr. Christie has also said that, in his mind, only four genuine contenders are left in the 2024 presidential election race, him being one of them. In his opinion, everyone else still “hanging around the fringe of the race” is not a serious contender.

Mr. Christie has claimed to have qualified for the fourth GOP debate on Dec. 6 at the University of Alabama campus. The Republican National Committee (RNC) requires candidates to have secured at least 80,000 unique donors—a 10,000 increase since the previous Miami debate. Candidates must also win at least six percent of the vote in at least one national and one state poll.

On Nov. 28, RNC officials declined to comment to The Epoch Times on who would qualify. Carly Shanahan, a spokeswoman for NewsNation, said the RNC will put out a list of candidates who will be participating this week.

Based on the criteria, former President Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley should qualify based on polling data and publicly available donor data.

Former president Donald Trump has been a frontrunner in most polling. However, Mr. Christie has cautioned against taking too much stock in polls, saying voters will ultimately decide who is president—not polls.

In the past, he has pointed to polling data from the 2008 New Hampshire Republican primary, which showed Sen. John McCain in third place at a roughly similar moment in the race before he ultimately won the state, as an example of polling data being wrong.

Austin Alonzo contributed to this report.