U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, announced on Monday that he was suspending his dark horse bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Graham has not made much of a splash in the national polls or in surveys of key states, including his home base of South Carolina which holds its primary after Iowa and New Hampshire have their say. While Graham had won applause from the pundits for his witty debate performances, he remained stuck in the undercard debate with other dark horse candidates.
During his bid, Graham focused mostly on calling for an active foreign policy, including having troops on the ground in the Middle East to fight Islamic State (ISIL) terrorism.
Graham made the announcement in an email released on Monday morning.
“Since launching my campaign for president on June 1st, I have offered a path to saving the American Dream and working together on bold solutions to solve big problems,” Graham wrote. “This has been a problem solvers' campaign. I have tried to be honest with the American people, look for realistic ways to get things done, and inject a little humor along the way.
“Most importantly, the centerpiece of my campaign has been securing our nation,” Graham added. “I have offered a detailed plan to win a war we cannot afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that has been rising in the Republican Party.
“I believe we have made enormous progress in this effort,” Graham insisted. “Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be commander in chief. At the time, no one stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what's needed to secure our homeland.
“While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time,” Graham concluded. “I hope we have run a campaign in which you have been proud. I know I am, and I know that together we have won an important contest of ideas. God bless our men and women in uniform, and God bless America.”
Graham became the fourth Republican candidate ending his presidential bid following three men who led their states as governors: Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas and Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
