February 21, 2016

Jeb Bush Drops Out of the Race for the GOP Presidential Nomination

His sagging campaign never got the lift it needed.

Matt Rourke/AP

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Jeb Bush is out. After disappointing finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and now South Carolina, the former Florida governor announced Saturday evening that he is ending his run for the GOP presidential nomination.

“Tonight I am suspending my campaign,” said an emotional and tired-looking Bush. “Yeah, I am,” he confirmed, after a few people in the crowd shouted, “No!”

“In this campaign I have stood my ground, refusing to bend to the political winds,” he said. “Ideas matter, policy matters.”

To his fellow GOP contenders, Bush congratulated the candidates still “on the island.” Bush, who has taken an aggressive stance recently against front-runner Donald Trump, did not take this opportunity to attack the business mogul.

Bush’s debate performances steadily improved throughout the campaign, particularly when he began to take on Trump. But that failed to give his sagging campaign the lift it needed. Bush came in sixth place in Iowa, fourth in New Hampshire, and is at the back of the pack in South Carolina, far behind Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio. For weeks, the press has noted the sad tone of Bush’s struggling campaign. Tonight, it’s finally over.
 

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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