Gov. Chris Christie will announce his presidential campaign next week at his high school alma mater, sources familiar with the decision confirm to NBC 4 New York.
The New Jersey governor plans to announce his candidacy at an event at Livingston High School -- where Christie was once class president -- on Tuesday, the sources say.
Christie has been widely expected to join the increasingly crowded field of Republicans seeking the party's nomination, and was at one time considered a 2016 front-runner. Thirteen candidates, including former New York Gov. George Pataki, have already announced campaigns.
Christie had been a popular figure both in his home state and nationally thanks to his brash demeanor and actions in the wake of Sandy in 2012, but his approval ratings have dropped in the wake of the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal last fall.
Christie was never implicated in the traffic-jamming political payback scheme, but two of his top aides were arrested in the aftermath of the scandal.
Christie has been touring his state and New Hampshire, an important state in the nation's primary elections, hosting a series of town halls.
In April, he told Matt Lauer in an interview on NBC's "Today" that he thought a governor would be the Republican party's nominee.
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“If I decide I want to do this, I’m going to do it honestly, and I'm going to go at as hard as I can and try to win every day,” he said. “I will never give being who I am, because that's a thing that stays with you forever."
