Republicans Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina end presidential campaigns

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former business executive Carly Fiorina are ending their campaigns for the 2016 Republican nomination, narrowing the field of rivals facing businessman Donald Trump for the right to compete in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

A senior aide confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that Christie would pull out, a day after the combative Republican's sixth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary raised doubts about his viability as a candidate.

Fellow Republican Fiorina, a former Hewlett Packard chief executive, said in a Facebook post she would suspend her campaign.

Trump's remaining opponents, most of them mainstream Republicans, will likely benefit from their departures, which leaves seven Republicans from a field that once had 17 candidates.

Christie had poured much of his campaign's resources into New Hampshire and had considered a good showing there critical. He won only around 7 percent of votes on Tuesday, despite a pugnacious performance at a Republican debate last weekend.

(Writing by Alistair Bell; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Eric Walsh; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)