Republican lawmaker Hunter abandons bid for White House
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican long-shot candidate Duncan Hunter on Saturday dropped out of the race for his party's presidential nomination after a poor showing in the Nevada caucuses, his campaign said in a statement on Saturday.
"Today we end this campaign," the California lawmaker said in the statement.
"I ran the campaign exactly the way I wanted to, and at this point not being able to gain traction in conservative states of Nevada and South Carolina, it's time to allow our volunteers and supporters to focus on the campaigns that remain viable," he said.
With all votes counted in Saturday's contest in Nevada, Hunter won only two percent support and in South Carolina, with 94 percent of precincts reporting, he trailed far behind with less than one percent of the vote. He also failed to make his mark in previous contests this month in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Hunter did not endorse any of the remaining candidates in the Republican nomination race.
He had recently expressed anger at television executives for not being invited to participate in debates before the New Hampshire primary vote.
Hunter, who launched his candidacy a year ago, had emphasized a strong national defense and immigration in his campaign but his bid never caught fire in a crowded Republican field.
But Hunter said he had helped influence the debate among Republican presidential hopefuls by urging the construction of an elaborate border fence with Mexico to counter illegal immigration and by warning of the threat posed by China's military and economic power.
"The failure of our campaign to gain traction is mine and mine alone. But we have driven the issues of national security, the border fence, the emergence of China and the need to reverse bad trade policy," he said.
