Donald Trump’s final Republican primary challenger drops out: Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld quits day after president’s new home state made his run a mathematical impossibility
- Donald Trump’s final Republican primary challenger dropped out of the race
- Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld said he was ending his campaign
- Trump’s renomination was never in doubt
- Weld only amassed one delegate during the Republican primary process
- After Tuesday’s primaries, Trump had enough delegates for the nomination
Donald Trump’s final Republican primary challenger dropped out of the race Wednesday after the president officially amassed enough delegates to be the party’s nominee for November’s election.
Trump’s renomination was never in doubt and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld barely cracked a dent in the president’s re-election plans.
‘With deep gratitude to all who have stood with me during the past eleven months in our effort to bring better government to Washington, D.C., I am today suspending my candidacy for President of the United States,’ Weld said in a statement.
After Tuesday’s primaries, President Donald Trump officially had enough delegates for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination
Trump’s last remaining primary challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, dropped out of the race on Wednesday
He was a fierce Trump critic who called on the president to resign. He said he was running to give Republican another option besides the incumbent.
But Weld only amassed one delegate – from Iowa – during his presidential bid. His campaign failed to catch fire, even in New Hampshire where he hoped to make traction given he was from the neighboring state.
Trump, after Tuesday’s primaries had 1,330 delegates, surpassing the 1,276 needed for the nomination.
‘Leading this movement is one of the greatest honors of my life, and I will always be indebted to all who have played a part,’ Weld said.
‘But while I am suspending my candidacy,’ he noted, ‘I want to be clear that I am not suspending my commitment to the nation and to the democratic institutions that set us apart.’
Weld served as governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s and, in 2016, was the vice presidential candidate on the Libertarian ticket.
Weld was the last primary challenger left standing to the president. Earlier contenders – Joe Walsh, a former congressman from Illinois, and Mark Sanford, a former South Carolina congressman – dropped already.
President Trump will formally become the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August.
Joe Walsh, a former congressman from Illinois, and Mark Sanford, a former South Carolina congressman, had already dropped out of the Republican primary contest
President Donald Trump’s renomination was never in doubt but he has suspended holding campaign rallies while the country deals with the coronavirus
The president had suspended his campaign rallies to help keep down the spread of the coronavirus. His administration has recommended limiting gatherings to under 10 people.
On the Democratic side, Joe Biden racked up another series of wins Tuesday night. Rival Bernie Sanders is reassessing his campaign in the wake of Biden’s delegate surge.
But the Vermont senator has given no timetable on making a decision on staying in the race.