What to know about Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie

This is part of a series on the 2024 presidential candidates.

Chris Christie was born Sept. 6, 1962, in Newark, New Jersey.

Christie majored in political science at the University of Delaware. He then attended Seton Hall University, where he studied law, receiving a J.D. in 1987.

Through student government in college, he met Mary Pat Foster. They married in 1986 and had four children -- Andrew, Sarah, Patrick and Bridget.

In 2001, then-President George W. Bush appointed Christie as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey where he prosecuted more than 130 public officials without losing a case.

In 2009, he was elected governor of New Jersey and served from 2010 to 2018.

Christie received widespread praise for his leadership and community involvement in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which devastated parts of New Jersey in October 2012.

He ran for president in 2016, but after struggling to gain support, he pulled out of the race and became a supporter of his former rival.

Christie is a diehard Bruce Springsteen fan and has been to well over 100 concerts.

After the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and claims of election fraud by Trump, Christie became a public critic of Trump.