Lindsey Graham Ends Presidential Bid

Senator Lindsey Graham is ending his presidential campaign, he told CNN during an exclusive interview airing Monday. Graham, about to enter the crowded GOP field of presidential hopefuls, has announced he’s retiring from the Air Force Reserve. Lindsey Graham ended his 2016 campaign for president Monday, saying he remains committed to working to achieve security for the American people and helping the GOP expand its base. He’s the fourth announced candidate to withdraw, along with another half-dozen or so who did candidate-like things but quit before reaching the announcement step. Now that the Senator will return his focus to representing his home state, we hope that he will convince his colleagues, Senator Tim Scott, and other Republicans in the SC delegation to vote for the flood relief that South Carolinians desperately need.

“It’s a shame the debate structure never let Lindsey have his real shot”, Todd said, referring to the two-tiered debates that relegated Graham, with his low poll numbers, to the undercard event out of the spotlight. “I believe we’ve run a campaign you can be proud of”, he said to those “who have taken this journey with me”.

Like many others (ourselves included), Mr. Graham was befuddled by Mr. Trump’s popularity and his sustained position as presidential front-runner.

Graham is known for his quick wit and famous for his one-liners (just ask Princess Buttercup about his retort from the last debate), but he was sober, serious and emotional as he described his decision to leave the race just weeks before the voting begins.

Having mustered little support in the polls, Graham’s exit will not have an immediate effect on the race in the final stretch before the February 1 Iowa caucuses and the February 9 New Hampshire primary.

“The centrepiece of my campaign has been securing our nation”, he said. It’s worth remembering, however, that at one point Rand Paul, perhaps the most war-averse Republican candidate, was considered by some to be a formidable contender.

Despite his withdrawal, Graham cited success in drawing attention to his call for USA troops on the grounds to defeat ISIS as opposed to the Obama administration’s strategy of Muslim countries taking the lead on the ground. “I am not going to give an inch on the idea”, he said. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t Graham but the terrorist attacks in Paris and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, that reshaped the GOP race into one dominated by national security fears. Of course, if previous McCain voters would do whatever he suggested, then Graham would have been doing a lot better in the Granite State.

Graham further reminded Trump that he may end up being the nominee, and that would put the party’s future in his hands.