US Senator Tim Scott declared on Sunday that he was leaving the US presidential contest, claiming that the electorate had sent him a clear “not now” message.
The South Carolina lawmaker had been having trouble breaking through the pack in the party’s crowded field as she tried to become the first Black Republican president.
According to the RealClearPolitics average of recent major opinion polls, the 58-year-old received just 2.5 percent of the vote, placing her in sixth place among Republican primary contenders.
“I am suspending my campaign. I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me: ‘Not now Tim,'” he told the Fox News program “Sunday Night in America.”
Scott spent months traveling to the states thought to be essential to getting an early advantage in the race before formally announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination in May.
He regularly emphasized throughout his campaign his conservative principles and Christian religion, which he acquired from his upbringing in a low-income, single-parent home.
During the third live Republican debate last Wednesday, contenders for the party’s nomination argued on abortion, China, Ukraine, and the party’s future direction. Scott was one of five Republicans participating in the event.
Donald Trump, the former president who is currently leading the field by a wide margin with 58.5 percent of the vote, was conspicuously absent from the stage.
Scott said he had no interest in becoming a running mate to any of the remaining candidates.
“Being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now.”
He also stopped short of throwing his support behind any of the remaining contenders.
“I’m going to recommend that the voters study each candidate and their candidacies and frankly their past and make the best decision for the future of their country,” he said.
“The best way for me to be helpful is not weigh in on who they should endorse.”
