Telling Fox News Channel, “I’ve come to the realization that this is not my time”, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dropped out of the 2016 race for the GOP presidential nomination today.
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“We spent a lot of time developing detailed policy papers, but given this insane unpredictable election season, clearly there wasn’t an interest in those policy papers”, Bobby Jindal told Fox News.
Former Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn said Jindal’s withdrawal would buoy U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who appeals to the same evangelical voters and on Monday won the backing of an influential Iowa lawmaker. They added Jindal might endorse another candidate in the future, but not immediately.
Once a rising star in the party, Jindal has failed to gain traction in the polls. “He is a fighter and his instinct is to never give up, but also you have to be realistic in politics”, said campaign strategist Curt Anderson.
A month earlier, Jindal had issued an executive order allowing businesses to turn away LGBTI customers, two hours after a state House panel rejected a “religious freedom” bill. Newsweek asked in 2008, shortly after Jindal was elected Louisiana’s governor.
A debate about the post-Obamacare reality of health care reform would have put Jindal in his strongest position-but that has not happened, and maybe never will.
There are plenty of viable critiques of how Jindal went about his campaign. “To me this is very sad that we are losing one that really resonated well with Iowans when they got to hear him”, She told Penn Live.
When Gov. Jindal entered the race he polled 15th out of the candidates when only 13 were actually running.
In his first press conference since ending his presidential campaign, Jindal provided no details about the plan.
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Going forward, the two-time Louisiana Governor said he believes that the Republicans have to be the party of growth and it can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. National Journal branded Jindal “the clickbait candidate” for his attempts to do anything – and everything – just to get people to look at him. “Everyone knows that, but don’t forget, this is still the greatest country in the history of the world-and every single one of us should start every day by thanking God that we are fortunate enough to be USA citizens”, Jindal said.
