Christie set to drop out of US presidential race

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to announce he is suspending his presidential campaign.

The Republican, who has run as a harsh critic of Donald Trump, lagged in opinion polls from the outset.

Mr Christie had faced pressure to drop out as critics of frontrunner Mr Trump scramble to unify the party behind a viable alternative to the ex-president.

This was Mr Christie's second unsuccessful White House campaign. He lost in 2016 to Mr Trump.

Mr Christie is expected to announce that he is dropping out of the race at a town hall event in the US state of New Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon.

It is not clear if he plans to endorse any of the few contenders still standing in the race to challenge Mr Trump for the Republican nomination.

Mr Christie's planned exit comes days before the Iowa caucuses, the first of the state-by-state contests in which Republican voters will pick their preferred candidate for president.

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