Former US Vice President Mike Pence said he was backing out from the Republican presidential nomination race ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to gain traction and raise money in the polls.
“It’s become clear to me: This is not my time,” 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,” reported the Associated Press.
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” said Pence who received an audible surprise at the announcement and multiple standing ovations.
Pence is the first major candidate to withdraw from the race which has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump, and his struggles underscore just how much Trump has transformed the party.
Typically, a former vice president is seen as a formidable challenger in any primary but Pence has struggled to find a base of support, the report added.
Pence chose the Las Vegas event to announce his event, in part to voice his continued support to Israel and to make his case one last time as a candidate that the isolationist and populist tides that have swept the Republican Party pose a danger to its future and embolden the nation’s enemies, the report added quoting two people close to Pence as saying.
In a survey by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in August, a majority of 57 per cent of adults in the US viewed Pence negatively, with only 28% having a positive view.