(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Larry Elder ends 2024 presidential campaign, endorses Trump [1]

['Robin Opsahl', 'More From Author', '- October']

Date: 2023-10

Radio host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder ended his 2024 Republican presidential campaign Thursday.

Elder endorsed former President Donald Trump, saying in a release posted on X that he met with Trump as he exited the race.

“His leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles and policies that have benefited our great nation,” Elder said in a statement. “We must unite behind Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden and fight back against Biden’s unprecedented election interference and the left’s destruction of America.”

It’s time to unite behind @realDonaldTrump to beat Joe Biden! pic.twitter.com/VXw6pyem2d — Larry Elder (@larryelder) October 26, 2023

Elder is the second former candidate this month to drop out and endorse Trump. Michigan businessman Perry Johnson also endorsed Trump as he suspended his campaign last week.

Trump holds a wide lead in national polls over other Republican presidential candidates in the months ahead of the 2024 presidential nominating cycle. Trump holds a double-digit lead ahead of his closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in both national and Iowa polls.

Some Republicans are hoping another candidate will be able to gather support to present a viable challenge to the former president. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas endorsed former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley as he exited the race, in part because of “the need to consolidate our party around one person to defeat both Donald Trump and President Biden,” he said.

In Iowa, Elder acknowledged that he was a long-shot candidate. He described himself at the Iowa State Fair as a “MAGA” and “America first” Republican, but said his role in the race was to bring more focus to topics like fatherhood and opposition to calling America “systematically racist.”

“Even if they want somebody else, I’m trying to put these issues front and center,” he told Iowans. “So if I’m not the nominee, if Trump, for example, is a nominee, if Trump can begin talking about this, given the strength of his voice, given the strength of his megaphone … maybe something can be done.”

Elder said moving forward he will keep advocating for issues he said are not discussed enough by Republicans.

“Although I am suspending my campaign for president, my commitment to addressing the crisis of fatherlessness, promoting conservative ideals, and supporting the MAGA movement remains unwavering,” Elder said. “I will continue to work tirelessly to advocate for the issues that matter most to the American people.”

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/larry-elder-ends-2024-presidential-campaign-endorses-trump/

Published and (C) by Iowa Capital Dispatch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND-NC 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/