During Chris Christie's town hall on CNN, Anderson Cooper and a live audience of Republican voters posed questions on a range of issues, including why he refuses to support Donald Trump. Cooper also asked Christie how he convinced his family to support his presidential run. Christie revealed to the town hall audience that he was not the driving force behind his current bid for the presidency. In fact, it was his wife, Mary Pat Christie, who pushed him into the race. "It was really Mary Pat making the case to me why she thought that it was necessary to do it," he told the live audience. Her winning argument included her belief that he has a unique skill set and so he needed to run.

Interestingly, Chris met his wife-to-be through student government in college. Chris convinced Mary Pat to get more involved, and she served as secretary when he won the presidency his senior year. Chris and Mary Pat eventually married in 1986 and went on to have four children. Christie, then, has spent 40 years with his wife, including their time dating, so he values her opinion. As he explained to Anderson Cooper, "When your wife makes the argument to you and you're the candidate, go. Don't ask any questions, just go."