Former US Vice President Mike Pence has withdrawn from the Republican presidential race. “This is not my time,” he said at an event in Las Vegas on Saturday. “After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to suspend my presidential campaign.”
Pence was former US President Donald Trump’s deputy for years. He is currently the high favorite in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in next year’s election. Incumbent Joe Biden wants to run again for the Democrats.
Pence entered the presidential race in June, challenging his former boss among the Republicans. The arch-conservative politician and evangelical Christian was a loyal deputy to Trump during his four years in the White House. However, the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 led to a break between the two Republicans.
Pence had then refused Trump’s demand to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Pence has since repeatedly criticized Trump and said that the right-wing populist should not be allowed to become president again.
