Second GOP Candidate Drops Out of Presidential Race After Getting Destroyed in Iowa Caucus
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson dropped out of the Republican primary on Tuesday after he failed to resonate with voters in Iowa on Monday evening.
Iowa Republicans awarded former President Donald Trump 51 percent of the vote in Monday’s caucuses.
Fourth-place finisher Vivek Ramaswamy ended his campaign for the White House before all the votes had been counted and after he only received the support of 7.7 percent of those who braved the cold.
He immediately endorsed Trump.
🚨VIVEK: “As of this moment we are going to be suspending this Presidential campaign… This has to be an America First candidate in that White House… Earlier tonight I called Donald Trump… and now going forward he will have my full endorsement for President.” pic.twitter.com/GdcSzKPf3z
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 16, 2024
Hutchinson finished the night with only 191 votes out of the 110,298 that were cast and ended the evening with only 0.2 percent support, according to The New York Times.
On Tuesday morning, he announced he would be dropping out of the race and congratulated Trump for his victory.
Hutchinson did not endorse any of the remaining candidates in the primary, and he claimed he was the only “principled Republican” in the race — although he did acknowledge voters did not buy his message.
“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” Hutchinson said in a statement he posted on the social media platform X.
He concluded: “Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in lowa.
“I stand by the campaign I ran. I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country’s future. Susan and I are blessed beyond measure, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have fought in the political arena for America.”
Here is my statement on the Iowa caucus. pic.twitter.com/uRmlbQtolx
— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) January 16, 2024
The former Arkansas governor actually underperformed on Monday compared to his polling numbers in the Real Clear Politics average.
The RCP average showed the Arkansas Republican with 0.7 percent support heading into Monday’s voting.
Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pulled in 19.1 and 21.1 percent of support, respectively, in Iowa.
Neither has offered any indication that they intend to drop out of the race ahead of the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday.
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