Walker throws in the towel

Scott Walker announced Monday that he was suspending his struggling campaign for the GOP nomination for president.

After a lackluster performance in last week’s GOP primary debate, Scott Walker has failed to climb out of the bottom rung of GOP nominees.

News of Walker’s imminent departure had been making the rounds throughout the day which caused the Wisconsin governor to throw together a last-minute press conference in Madison where he said “I will suspend my campaign immediately.”

Walker also made a plea for the electorate to seek an alternative to Trump’s blustery, insulting style.

“I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field,” Walker said. “… I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner.”

Jeb Bush tweeted a supportive message shortly after Walker’s announcement:

After entering the race in July, Walker had quickly become a conservative favorite – even topping polls in the favored state of Iowa. Beginning with the first primary debate, things went all down hill.

The second GOP debate was Scott Walker’s last chance to break into the contender tier, but after a fairly bland appearance Walker stayed at just 1% in the polls.