New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will announce at a 1 p.m. news conference in Trenton that he has decided not to run for president in 2012, multiple news outlets reported this morning.  
 
The decision reiterates his repeated denials over the last year that he would run for president. Most notably, he told reporters in February, “Short of suicide, I don’t know what I have to do to convince you people that I’m not running.”
 
Speculation about a possible Christie run, however, mounted in recent days, as discontent with the current GOP field —  including frontrunners former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry — remains prevalent within the party establishment and base.
 
Despite the interest, Christie faced daunting challenges if he decided to reverse course and run, including building a campaign infrastructure so late in the cycle. That complication was exacerbated in the last week with the likelihood that the primary calendar will be moved up to January.