21 December 2015•Update: 21 December 2015
WASHINGTON
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday that he has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential race.
“Today, I’m suspending my campaign for president,” Graham said in a video posted on YouTube. “I want to thank everyone who has taken this journey with me. You have honored me with your support. I believe we have run a campaign you can be proud of. We put forth bold and practical solutions to real problems.”
The three-term congressman did not specify why he is dropping out of the race but in national surveys Graham was accredited with no more than 1 percent support from likely Republican voters.
“While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time,” Graham said.
The senator, who visited Iraq and Afghanistan recently, called for the deployment of more troops to Syria and Iraq in the fight against Daesh.
“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 [Daesh] was not ready to be Commander in Chief,” Graham said in a written statement to his supporters. “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.”
Twelve candidates are now running for the 2016 Republican presidential bid.
Recent national polls show that the real-estate mogul Donald Trump is leading the race with a support rate of around 39 percent.
Trump is followed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Florida governor Jeb Bush.
