Thread: Graham ends his campaign for the White House

First on CNN: Graham ends his campaign for the White House

By Kate Bolduan, Anchor
Updated 10:06 AM ET, Mon December 21, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

(CNN)Senator Lindsey Graham is ending his presidential campaign, he told CNN during an exclusive interview airing Monday.

"I'm going to suspend my campaign. I'm not going to suspend my desire to help the country," the South Carolina senator said in a wide-ranging and candid discussion in which he acknowledged: "I've hit a wall here."

He made the official announcement in an email to supporters and Youtube video posted Monday morning.

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.

One thing is clear: Graham still wants his voice heard on the direction his party is headed, especially with regard to the Middle East.
"Here's what I predict. I think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy ISIL," he said. "We've fallen short here, but the fight continues. To those who are doing the fighting, I want to be your voice. To those in the Republican Party who want to win, check my plan out. Hillary, if you get to be President, I'll help you where I can. I hope you're not. But if you are, I'll be there to help you win a war we can't afford to lose."

Graham's decision -- which leaves a field of 12 main GOP candidates (CNN had 13 at its last Republican debate, including Graham) -- comes just days after the CNN Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, where he was widely viewed as dominating the undercard debate.
However, Graham was never able to break onto the main stage after announcing his candidacy in early June — a reality of the Republican Party's new debate structure that he blames at least in part for his struggles. Graham limped along at less than one percent in national polls, and, in the most recentCNN/ORC national poll, he barely registered. He failed to even qualify for the undercard round in the Fox Business debate in November.
"Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be Commander in Chief," Graham wrote in the email. "At the time, no one stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what's needed to secure our homeland."
He added, "While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time."
Related: Lindsey Graham's best lines from the CNN debate
"My biggest problem is a lot of people like what I say, but not a lot of people hear it," he told CNN. "I don't want to be the undercard voice. I cannot tell you how frustrating it has been to have spent all this time and effort preparing myself to be Commander-in-Chief and to be put at the 'kiddie table'." His advice to his party as it relates to the debate format: "Never do this again."
Graham's campaign strategy had been laser-focused on New Hampshire: Place high in that first primary state on February 9 and use the momentum to propel him forward. So why not hold out until then?

"I'm not trying to hold out. I'm trying to make a difference. I think the best way for me to make a difference is to think about helping somebody else," he said.
In another key primary state, South Carolina, he faces a Monday December 21 deadline to keep his name off the ballot, potentially helping Graham avoid an embarrassing showing in his home state. Asked whether that fueled his decision to drop out now, Graham said no and added that he'd risk it if he saw a way to turn things around.
"At the end of the day, I'm not going to be competitive in my state," he said. "I'm not going to be competitive outside my state."
Asked who he would endorse, Graham demurred. "I'm going to take some time with my family. Going to think about what I should do. I have no intention of endorsing anyone right now." Later, he said that if he were to endorse, he's looking for the candidate best fit to be Commander-in-Chief and also who can win.
As for the candidate Graham has traded barbs with the most since he entered the race in early June, Graham struck a markedly softer tone toward Donald Trump."You're doing really well. I'm impressed with your campaign," he said.
Graham -- who recently urged Republicans to tell Trump to "go to hell" -- also did not rule out accepting a Cabinet position in a Trump administration in the future.
CNN Politics Debate Sweepstakes

But he did offer these parting words for Trump: "We're at war. A lot of men and women are at risk overseas. Watch what you say over here."
"You may wind up being the nominee of the Republican Party," he added. "The Republican Party's future may be in your hands. The future of the country will be in your hands if you're President of the United States. This is not a game show. This is not a reality show."
Candidly, Graham said he has a lot of regrets looking back at his campaign. "I regret that I haven't been a better candidate. I regret that I never got on the big stage. I regret that I didn't make it to the final group. But that's just about me. I have no regrets about running for President," he said. "It has been the joy of my life to run for President of the United States."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/politics/lindsey-graham-2016-campaign-drops-out/index.html

by ALEX SWOYER
21 Dec 2015
Washington, DC
1,105 comments

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is suspending his presidential campaign, after failing to gain any traction or gain any support–even in his home state of South Carolina, the first primary in the south.
According to RealClearPolitics South Carolina polling averages, Graham barely cracked a single percent in his home state that he’s represented in the US Senate for years.

His national numbers and his numbers in other early states were in many cases worse than that. Graham – who was tied for last place in the GOP field – only averaged .5 percent nationally, according to Real Clear Politics.

Now dropping out of the race, Graham’s significant lack of support anywhere in America–including his home state–is a warning to any politicians that taking viewpoints like his in support of amnesty for illegal aliens is essentially a nonstarter with the entire electorate.

“I want to thank everyone whose taken this journey with me…I believe we’ve run a campaign we can be proud of,” Graham stated in a video he posted online.

On Twitter Graham wrote, “Thank you to everyone who honored me with their support. God bless our fighting men and women & God bless America.”

He said he thinks the Republican Party won’t follow President Obama’s doctrine of following from behind and will lead the fight to keep America safe and secure.

South Carolina GOP chairman Matt Moore argues that Graham still has political relevancy in South Carolina, even after this humiliation:

Senator Graham gave 110 percent effort in seeking the Republican presidential nomination. We are proud of him for being the first South Carolinian in over sixty years to seriously compete for the White House.

Senator Graham has an incredibly strong and loyal grassroots network in South Carolina. Given Senator Graham’s huge primary victory in South Carolina just last year, the Graham network could have a major impact on South Carolina’s presidential primary.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...tial-campaign/

What is scary is that .5% of Americans out there are willing to approve of Lindsey Graham for President! I guess that is part of the illegal alien vote giving him the thumbs up lol.

W

By Al Weaver • 12/21/15 11:56 AM

Sen. Lindsey Graham admitted on the same day he dropped out of the 2016 presidential race that the more moderate wing of the Republican Party is a thing of the past.

"What's happened here is sort of my lane of the party has collapsed," Graham said in an interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan, when asked why he isn't holding out until the South Carolina primary on February 20th.

"At the end of the day, I'm not going to be competitive in my state if I'm not competitive outside my state," Graham said, noting that he was once a front-runner in the state. "South Carolina's been incredibly good to me. I would be competitive in South Carolina, but I've got to show traction outside the state."

Graham was the only Republican in the race who supported a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants, putting him at odds with many other candidates and many Republican voters who oppose the Democrats' efforts to secure a path to citizenship. Despite that position, Graham opposed "birthright citizenship," and was also known for his hawkish proposals for fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

"This is an election for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Graham said later on. "This is no longer about 2016. This is about who are we as a party, where do we want to go, and where do we take the country."

Graham's exit from the race now leaves 13 candidates in the race. He also added that he has no intention to endorse a candidate at the moment.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/li...rticle/2578850

Long overdue. 13 is still way too many. Time many drop out like flies, it ought to be embarrassing by now.

Graham was the only Republican in the race who supported a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants

Not true! Rubio was part of the gang of eight that supported a path to citizenship for illegal aliens.