The Republican presidential field has thinned once again as former Virgina governor Jim Gilmore announced Friday that he is suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination. The announcement, which was first revealed in an emailed statement to the Washington Examiner, puts an end to a long-shot bid that never gained traction with the media or the public.
"My campaign was intended to offer the gubernatorial experience with the track record of a true conservative, experienced in national security, to unite the party." Gilmore said. "My goal was to focus on the importance of this election as a real turning point, and to emphasize the dangers of continuing on a road that will further undermine America's economy and weaken our national security."
Despite dropping out, Gilmore promised to help elect a Republican and prevent allowing someone who would continue "Obama's disastrous policies" to enter office, according to The Hill.
"Nonetheless, I will continue to express my concerns about the dangers of electing someone who has pledged to continue Obama's disastrous policies," Gilmore said. "And, I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that our next president is a free-enterprise Republican who will restore our nation to greatness and keep our citizens safe."
Becoming the 17th hopeful to join the flooded republican presidential field at the end of July, Gilmore was a long shot from the get-go, barely registering with voters. He failed to qualify for any of the Republican primetime debates and sometimes did not even earn a spot on the undercard debate stage, according to CNN.
His poll numbers were often so low that they rounded down to zero, and that trend continued into 2016 as the caucuses approached. He finished dead last in Iowa with 12 votes, and he only secured 133 votes (0.5 percent of the vote) in New Hampshire. Though it was a marked success for Gilmore who previously declared he would focus his campaign there, he still finished behind three candidates who had already dropped from the race: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
With meager numbers awaiting him at every turn and a looming debate in South Carolina on Saturday that CBS recently revealed he didn't qualify for, Gilmore decided it was time to call in quits.
