Former US vice president Mike Pence quits Republican race for White House
Former US vice president Mike Pence dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday, ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls.
“It’s become clear to me: This is not my time,” Mr Pence said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual gathering in Las Vegas.
“So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” Mr Pence told the audience, which reacted with surprise to the announcement and gave him multiple standing ovations.
Mr Pence is the first major candidate to leave a race that has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump, and his struggles underscore just how much Mr Trump has transformed the party.
A former vice president would typically be seen as a formidable challenger in any primary, but Mr Pence has struggled to find a base of support.
He did not immediately endorse any of his rivals, but continued to echo language he has used to criticise Mr Trump.
“I urge all my fellow Republicans here, give our country a Republican standard-bearer that will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature,” he said, “and not only lead us to victory, but lead our nation with civility.”
Mr Pence’s decision, more than two months before the Iowa caucuses that he had staked his campaign on, saves him from accumulating additional debt, as well as the embarrassment of potentially failing to qualify for the third Republican primary debate in Miami.
But his withdrawal is a blow for a politician who spent years biding his time as Mr Trump’s most loyal lieutenant, only to be scapegoated during their final days in office when Mr Trump became convinced that Mr Pence somehow had the power to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep both men in office — a power Mr Pence did not possess.
Throughout his campaign, the former Indiana governor and congressman had insisted that while he was well-known by voters, he was not “known well” and set out to change that with an aggressive schedule that included numerous stops at diners and pizza restaurants.
Some said that Hamas’ attack on Israel, which pushed foreign policy to the forefront of the campaign, had given Mr Pence a renewed sense of purpose given his warnings throughout the campaign against the growing tide of isolationism in the Republican Party.
Mr Pence had argued that he was the race’s most experienced candidate and decried “voices of appeasement” among Republican, arguing they had emboldened groups such as Hamas.
But ultimately, Mr Pence concluded that he could continue to speak out on the issue without continuing the campaign.
He is expected to remain engaged, in part through Advancing American Freedom, the conservative think tank he founded.
He also has a book coming out next month that offers advice on balancing work and family.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
