Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced Monday that he is dropping out of the 2016 Republican presidential race.
The GOP-nominee hopeful had entered the primary in July as an upstart front-runner after winning battles and gaining the support of powerful donors. However, his auspicious campaign quickly lost momentum following poor debate performances that saw his poll numbers suffer, with Walker failing to garner even 1% of likely voters in a CNN/ORC poll released on Sunday.
“Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately,” Walker said Monday at a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
Although he did not refer to him explicitly by name, Walker had some pointed words for fellow candidate Donald Trump.
“I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider [dropping out] so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner,” Walker said.
“This is fundamentally important to the future of our party, and, more important, the future of the country," Walker added.
Walker’s poor polling numbers, in conjuction with running low on campaign funds, as well as making unseemly gaffes such as saying he would consider building a wall along the Canadian border were all contributing reasons to his withdrawal, according to the NY Times.
With him suspending his campaign, Walker becomes the second Republican to drop out of the 2016 race, 10 days after former Texas Gov. Rick Perry bowed out. With Walker’s departure, there still remain 15 candidates vying for the GOP nomination.
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