Washington, D.C. – With Chris Christie’s announcement that he is running for president, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:

“Now that Chris Christie is a candidate for President, he should be prepared to handle some blunt, straight-talk he may not like: his failed leadership has driven New Jersey’s economy off a cliff, leaving the middle class even further behind.

“As governor, Christie has led New Jersey to a record-setting nine credit downgrades, the third lowest private sector job growth in the country, and an unemployment rate among the highest in the region. The state has experienced significant budget shortfalls as Christie gave massive tax breaks to corporations and protected those at the very top while failing to meet his obligations to the middle class.

“Chris Christie spent 2014 and most of 2015 so far ignoring the problems he created at home while the state’s economic and fiscal crises worsened.

“His bullying style created a culture that led to the infamous Bridgegate scandal, and he's done nothing to solve New Jersey’s fiscal problems.

“Allow me to tell it like it is: Governor Christie doesn’t have solutions for America’s middle class, and he’d be a nightmare as President.”