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Republican Lindsey Graham says quitting race for White House
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 15, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Mike Blake
21/12/2015
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday he is dropping out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, leaving 13 candidates in the party's still-crowded field.
"Today, I'm suspending my campaign for president," the South Carolina senator said in a video posted on YouTube.
Graham, a hawk on defense and foreign policy, ranked in lowest tiers in opinion surveys of Republican voters in a race being dominated by a political outsider, real estate tycoon Donald Trump.
"I'm going to suspend my campaign. I'm not going to suspend my desire to help the country," Graham said. "I've hit a wall here."
Graham said he was proud of what he called his bold, practical solutions on debt and immigration.
"I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war that we cannot afford to lose, and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party. I believe we've made enormous progress in this effort," he said.
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham, Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu)
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