US Presidential Candidate Lindsey Graham Suspends Campaign

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Republican presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham announced in a video message on Monday that he is exiting the 2016 presidential race.

“Today I am suspending my campaign for president,” Graham said on his campaign website.

Graham entered the US presidential race in May 2015 with a heavy focus on foreign policy and defense priorities. He has been in favor of sending US boots on the ground to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or Daesh).

“Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more American troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be commander-in-chief. At that time, nobody stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize that this is what’s needed to secure our homeland,” he explained.

The senator added despite suspending his candidacy, he will continue to work to ensure that the Republican party “takes on this fight.” Graham was challenging other candidates including Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nomination. Graham has represented the US state of South Carolina in the Senate since 2003.