Christie to announce presidential run Tuesday

NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is joining the 2016 presidential race and will make an official announcement Tuesday at his old high school, two people familiar with his plans said.

The Republican leader of a Democratic stronghold has been laying the groundwork for a White House run for months.

In 2012, he decided against seeking the Republican nomination.

This time, he will not be a potential frontrunner when he joins a field of more than a dozen major GOP candidates. Instead, he becomes one of several contenders trying to emerge from a crowd of senators, governors, businesspeople and others.

People familiar with Christie's plans spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt the announcement.