New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced he was officially entering the GOP presidential race today from his old high school in Livingston, N.J., where he was class president. He becomes the 14th official candidate on the crowded GOP side, with two more candidates expected to announce next, Scott Walker and John Kasich. Christie’s slogan is “Telling it Like it Is,” a reference to his frank and folksy way of talking. He told the crowd in his speech, “You’re going to get what I think whether you like it or not, whether or not it makes you cringe.” Considered a rising GOP star during the last presidential cycle, his popularity has plummeted due to the 2013 “Bridgegate” scandal and economic problems plaguing New Jersey.

The son of an Irish father and a Sicilian mother, Christie got into politics in his mid-teens, volunteering on the gubernatorial campaign of then-state legislator Tom Kean. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in political science and a law degree from Seton Hall University. He practiced law for several years, and became a legislator in the mid-1990s. He became a fundraiser for George W. Bush in 2000, and Bush appointed him U.S. Attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008. Christie made public corruption his top priority, successfully prosecuting 130 officials. He became governor in 2010.

Although Christie is considered a moderate Republican, his record as governor is surprisingly conservative considering  how Democratic the state of New Jersey is. He promised not to raise taxes and to lower both income and business taxes, and was generally successful. He signed into law three public pension reform bills and vetoed a minimum wage increase. The fiscally conservative Cato Institute rated him a B. During his speech, he reminded the audience that he balanced the budget six years in a row and stopped tax increases. However, under his tenure, New Jersey’s credit rating was downgraded nine times, the lowest in the country after Illinois. Several New Jersey casinos have gone out of business, although much of this may be due to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

Christie changed his views on abortion over the years, becoming pro-life, and  vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood from the state’s budget. He expanded charter schools and school choice, toughened up laws on tenure and opposes Common Core. He favors cutting welfare benefits.

The Pulse 2016, which tracks the presidential candidates on the issues, rated Christie a D on how he handled the Indiana religious freedom law controversy. He said that Governor Mike Pence should “Fix the problem and move on,” but did not explain what he meant. After the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage last week, Christie said he thought it should have been left up to the states to decide. He has consistently supported civil unions but opposes same-sex marriage.

Christie welcomed Obama into New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, right before the presidential election against Mitt Romney, which some believed help tip the election to Obama. But he had no love for Obama during his announcement speech, saying, “President Obama lives in his own world, not in our world, and the fact is this: after seven years of a weak and feckless foreign policy run by Barack Obama, we better not turn it over to his second mate, Hillary Clinton.”

In 2013, he signed a DREAM Act which allows illegal immigrants to attend state colleges with in-state tuition levels. He does not support building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He has a moderate record on energy and the environment, and a wishy-washy record on the Second Amendment.

His reputation was greatly hurt by the George Washington Bridge scandal, where two of the three lanes were deliberately closed during morning rush hour in September 2013 to clog up traffic in Fort Lee, as punishment for the mayor for not supporting Christie’s reelection bid. Although Christie was ultimately exonerated of any knowledge of the incident, several of his top staffers were implicated and fired or forced to resign.

His wife Mary is an investment banker. They have two boys and two girls. Christie grew up playing baseball and enjoys coaching Little League and cheering for sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys.

Does this moderate Republican have a chance?

Unlike the major candidates, Christie is not expected to raise much money, maybe $20 to $30 million by the end of the year. Bush has already raised about $100 million. Christie is averaging ninth in polling among the GOP candidates, barely enough to qualify for the first tier debates in August with CNN and Fox News. Despite his moderateness, he is polling against Hillary Clinton in the general election worse than at least six of the other GOP candidates. He’s very unpopular within the Republican Party; over 50 percent of Republicans polled say they will not vote for him in the primary.

Christie is focusing most of his efforts on the New Hampshire primary, spending a lot of time in the state lately. Moderate Republicans do better there since it is an open primary, with Independents and members of other parties allowed to vote in the primary. Christie is holding a campaign event in New Hampshire later tonight, and will remain in the state the rest of the week holding town halls. The state is known for its town halls, which Christie excels at.

He might be able to pick up some of the slack during the GOP primary debates. He is charismatic and one of the best speakers of all the candidates. He’s shown that he’s not afraid to go after the other candidates. At a meeting in Utah recently, he went after Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on his opposition to the PATRIOT Act: “He’s made America weaker and more vulnerable, and he’s done it for his own personal and political gain.”

Christie further splits up the moderate wing of the GOP among the candidates, who include Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki and soon John Kasich. While Christie may be a long shot, his entry may take away some of Bush’s lead, allowing a more conservative candidate like Walker to slip into the lead.