The number of candidates on stage at the fourth GOP debate is shrinking.

The debate, which will take place tonight in Alabama, will have just four candidates present Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Jersey's own Chris Christie.

One candidate you won't see is President Trump.

But despite Trump's absence, his presence among voters remains strong.

As a new Monmouth poll found, voters would like to see Trump as the GOP nominee.

The same poll found Chris Christie as the least popular GOP nominee.

Still, with polling numbers being what they are.

Many are questioning Christie's refusal to drop out of the presidential race.

Senior political correspondent David Cruz has more.

It's true.

A lot of you probably forgot that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is running for the Republican nomination for president.

Still, and tonight, as he stands on the debate stage for what could be the final time, you might wonder when he's going to land a blow on Trump like he promised.

Yeah, I mean, look, Trump never showed up, so he had to jettison that plan.

Political reporter Matt Arco has been chronicling the Christie run in a newsletter for NJ.com.

It can get a little tough to cover a campaign that more and more people think should be folding its tent.

I heard a recent interview with him when he was asked, Why don't you jump out?

So Nikki, everyone can coalesce around Nikki Haley.

And his response, I think, kind of rightfully was, why didn't she drop out and coalesce around me?

I mean, it's I think you can argue that this is between Trump.

Obviously, he appears to be running away with it.

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and then Chris Christie.

But Christie is the one feeling the pressure.

A new Monmouth University poll finds him unable to catch fire with anyone but the most ardent anti-Trump supporters.

The problem with Chris Christie is that he's got a ceiling, and the ceiling is that a vast majority of Republican voters don't like him, which means they're just they're not going to vote him.

There's not an alternative that they're going to look at.

The thing that we do see is that all of his voters are anti-Trump voters.

But again, his support, plus Haley support, isn't big enough to still overcome Donald Trump.

Support where it stands right now, even in a state like in the early state, like New Hampshire.

Christie snuck into tonight's debate by the slimmest of margins in the last few days.

He's now switched his debate tactics towards meatier answers on policy, which his campaign says is working for the former governor.

Most evidence to the contrary.

It hasn't giving him the lift or the rise.

He'll try one more time.

He'll see if he can make anything out of it.

But by all reasonable accounts, this is the last debate.

New Hampshire is the last stand.

Right.

You know, and so he's going to have to make some tough soul searching decisions.

I think Nikki Haley is putting on the pressure for him to make those decisions now rather than after the primary.

I'm a little skeptical.

But, you know, he says that this is when people are tuning in and New Hampshire and he is right.

He is right.

I mean, New Hampshire voters typically start to get engaged at this point going forward.

I talked to one pollster who said it's not atypical for voters, for the bulk of voters to make up their mind the weekend or two weekends before the actual primary.

Christie is dug in, though.

He's a constant presence on cable TV talk shows and his town halls are still well-attended and well-received.

But he's been here before.

He knows town hall tourism in New Hampshire can fill a church basement, but it doesn't always translate into votes.

And time is running out.

I'm David Cruz.

NJ Spotlight News.