Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal became the third Republican presidential candidate to drop out of the crowded race Tuesday night, announcing on Fox News that he is suspending his campaign.
Jindal told Special Report host Bret Baier it had been a "great honor" to run for President of the United States, but he concluded that it was not "my time."
"I've come to the realization that this is not my time, so I've come here to announce that I am suspending my campaign for President of the United States," he said.
Jindal joined Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in exiting the 2016 race for the Republican nomination. Baier asked Jindal why he felt he hadn't made headway in the polls, and Jindal replied that he had evidently spent too much time working on complex position papers.
"Given this crazy, unpredictable election season, clearly there just wasn't a lot of interest in those policy papers," Jindal said. "But the reality is I think the Republican Party has to lay out the pathway why we are the party for opportunity and growth."
Jindal said he hadn't endorsed any other Republican candidates yet, but he said he wanted someone with the "courage and the smarts" to implement strong conservative reforms.
Jindal never got into the top tier of Republican candidates and did not appear at any of the main stage GOP debates, settling to appear at the second-tier debates every time. Jindal was also hampered by his strong unpopularity back in Louisiana, with one recent poll showing just 20 percent approve of his job performance.
Jindal was first elected to the governorship in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. He was the first Indian-American governor in the United States.
His official statement on the decision to suspend his campaign read in part:
I cannot tell you what an honor it has been to run for President of the United States of America. My parents came to this country 45 years ago searching for freedom and a chance.
When I was born, we lived in student housing at LSU, and never in their wildest dreams did they think their son would have the opportunity to serve as Governor of Louisiana or to run for President, They raised me to believe Americans can do anything, and they were right, we can. But this is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for President.
Going forward, I believe we have to be the party of growth and we can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. We cannot settle for The Left’s view of envy and division. We have to be the party that says everyone in this country – no matter the circumstances of their birth or who their parents are – can succeed in America.