Chris Christie is expected to formally suspend his presidential campaign Wednesday after he huddles with his closest advisers, ABC News is reporting.

A statement announcing the suspension could come as soon as early Wednesday afternoon, according to the source.

“We bet the ranch on New Hampshire, and no one ever anticipated the Trump phenomenon,” the source told ABC News.”He’s a realist.”

New Hampshire campaign chairman Wayne MacDonald, who is not involved in the deliberations but is familiar with the campaign’s strategy, said that qualifying for the next debate is likely a major factor in the deliberations. And with the governor’s 6th place finish

in New Hampshire, he does not qualify to make the stage.

“It’s just a logical next step,” MacDonald said of the likelihood that the governor will formally drop out.

Christie has cancelled an event in South Carolina on the heels of his disappointing finish in the New Hampshire GOP primary.

Brielle Applebaum of the Conservative Leadership Project says a Wednesday forum on legal and constitutional issues set for Charleston has been cancelled. South Carolina is next up on the GOP primary calendar and votes Feb. 20.

Christie told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday night that he was headed home to New Jersey to “take a deep breath” and assess what comes next.

On MSNBC Wednesday morning, first-place New Hampshire finisher Donald Trump said he had a “long talk” with Christie Tuesday night but did not go into detail about what was said.

(Source: WABC)