WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Chris Christie considered the future of his struggling U.S. presidential bid on Wednesday amid news reports he would suspend his campaign and narrow the field of rivals facing businessman Donald Trump.
A disappointing sixth-place finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire nominating contest raised doubts about the combative New Jersey governor's viability as a candidate for the Nov. 8 presidential election.The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior adviser to the campaign as saying Christie was expected to make an announcement soon suspending his campaign. Other news organizations carried similar reports.A spokeswoman for Christie's campaign said no decision had been made about whether he would stay in the race.Christie's departure would leave eight Republicans from a field that once had 17 candidates vying to represent the party. Trump has dominated the Republican race and won the party primary in New Hampshire on a wave of voter anger at traditional U.S. politicians.U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a democratic socialist, defeated former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the state's Democratic contest. The results testified to the sizable share of American voters upset over the slow economic recovery, immigration and America's place in the world and willing to send a shockwave to Washington. On Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said he understood the frustration and expected Republican voters to coalesce behind a candidate."I think it's pretty normal and I think it's pretty common and expect that sort of vein is going to play itself out for the next few months and you know we'll have a unified party when it's done," he told CNN in an interview.Christie had poured much of his campaign's resources into New Hampshire and had considered a good showing there critical.He canceled plans to go to South Carolina, a sign he could drop out soon. The southern state holds the next Republican primary on Feb. 20."No decision has been made," Christie spokeswoman Sam Smith wrote in an email to Reuters. Trump's opponents, most of them mainstream Republicans, could benefit if Christie pulls out.Ohio's Republican governor, John Kasich, finished second in New Hampshire, followed by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.TRUMP STAYING POWERFor Trump, New Hampshire showed he has staying power and can take a punch after losing last week to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses. The former reality TV star's win showed pundits were wrong to think he would quickly self-destruct based on his penchant for insults and imprecise plans for the presidency. Trump's odds for winning the White House, once seen as an extremely long shot, improved significantly after his victory in New Hampshire, online betting site Ladbrokes PLC