Senator Rand Paul drops out of presidential race

Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian who often opposed American military intervention in overseas conflicts, dropped his bid Wednesday for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, as did another low-polling candidate, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

“It has been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House”.

“Although today I will suspend my campaign for president, the fight is far from over”, he said.

“I wish him the best of luck with his re-election”, he said, “If he needs me to come down there and campaign for him, I’d be happy to do that because he’s a good guy to have in the United States Senate”.

Paul’s removal leaves the Republican field still crowded with 10 White House hopefuls.

“I don’t really have an absolute answer for what went on with the election and why people make their choices”, Paul said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Wednesday after a disappointing fifth-place finish in Iowa. Paul slammed antidiscrimination laws for providing the opportunity for more lawsuits.

In a state like New Hampshire, Cruz’s team is betting that pays off. His aides are increasingly optimistic about their fortunes in the state after his momentum from Iowa. “They think he’s for the free market, and he’s owned by Goldman Sachs”, the former Texas lawmaker said on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Company”, according to Politico”. And he said volunteers from his re-election campaign “will be participating and manning the caucuses”.

Rand Paul can now turn his attention to his re-election campaign in Kentucky. Santorum won 1 percent of the vote in the GOP Iowa caucuses. Corie W. Stephens of Rare notes that Cruz has already apparently picked up one major Paul backer less than a day after the senator’s withdrawal… At a tavern here in Hillsborough County, Cruz received two separate questions from friends who identified as Rand Paul supporters until Wednesday morning – and neither felt Cruz did enough to align himself with the movement.

Paul had convinced the state Republican party to change from a May presidential primary to a March caucus to allow him to legally run for both offices. Marco Rubio for the presidential nomination. Last spring, Paul deemed New Hampshire a must-win state for his campaign, suggesting the state’s fierce libertarian streak would match up well with his candidacy.