Buddy Roemer drops out of US presidential race

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer announced today that he is dropping out of the US presidential race, CNN reported. Roemer had attempted to run as a third party nominee.

"Today, I am no longer a candidate for President of the United States," Roemer wrote on his website.

The reason Roemer ended it: He didn’t qualify for the November ballot in any of the 50 states, the Hill reported.

Originally a Democratic congressman, Roemer became a Republican in 1991, while he was governor of Louisiana, the Hill reported. He had his eyes on the Republican nomination in 2012, but he won only 950 votes in New Hampshire’s GOP primary in January, CNN reported. He then turned his attention to winning the nomination from the non-partisan third party Americans Elect.

Last week, Americans Elect said it was ending its primary process without nominating a candidate for the 2012 election, CNN reported.

According to CNN:

Roemer had low name recognition, the group said, and small fundraising appeal, as he refused to accept contributions higher than $100.

Yet, Roemer claimed in his statement today, his campaign stuck a chord with thousands of voters. “We were not included in a single one of the 23 nationally televised GOP debates, and yet received 7 percent of the popular vote in a national poll conducted just a few weeks ago,” he wrote.

“We ran like we would serve – free to lead,” he added. “We assumed no debt and we end this campaign with money in the bank.”

Roemer said he will now focus his energies on enacting campaign finance reform, the Hill reported.

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