Oct. 26 (UPI) — Conservative talk radio host and Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder suspended his campaign Thursday and endorsed GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump.
“As I look at the path forward, and after careful consideration and consultation with my campaign team, I have made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign,” Elder said in a statement.
“Now that I am exiting the race, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald Trump for president of the United States.”
Elder announced he was running for president in April, and campaigned to fight what he called “the crisis of fatherlessness.” He also said a main concern was the rate of crime and the state of policing under Democrats as well as government spending as he vowed, if elected, to put a cap on federal costs that were fixed to the nation’s gross domestic product.
He bowed out of the presidential contest after failing to secure a spot on either of the two Republican primary debate stages held so far this election cycle.
“Although I am suspending my campaign for president, my commitment to addressing the crisis of fatherlessness, promoting conservative ideals and supporting the MAGA movement remains unwavering,” he said, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan.
The Californian had also lost to his state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, in a recall election in 2021.
The GOP field includes the likes of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Nikki Haley of South Carolina and several others. But all trail Trump, whose campaign has been hampered by the slew of legal challenges he is facing in connection to charges of attempting to overthrown the previous presidential election he lost to President Joe Biden and to holding on to classified files after leaving office.
The third GOP presidential debate has been scheduled for Nov. 8.
