Dear Friend,

Since launching my campaign for president on June 1st, I have offered a path to saving the American Dream and working together on bold solutions to solve big problems. This has been a problem solvers' campaign. I have tried to be honest with the American people, look for realistic ways to get things done, and inject a little humor along the way.

Most importantly, the centerpiece of my campaign has been securing our nation. I have offered a detailed plan to win a war we cannot afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that has been rising in the Republican Party.

I believe we have made enormous progress in this effort. Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be Commander in Chief. At the time, no one stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what's needed to secure our homeland.

While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time. Please watch this important video about the future of my campaign.




I want to thank you for standing with me. More than you will ever know, you have honored me with your support. I hope we have run a campaign in which you have been proud. I know I am, and I know that together we have won an important contest of ideas.

God bless our men and women in uniform, and God bless America.

Sincerely,


Lindsey Graham
United States Senator

A message from Lindsey Graham

TRANSCRIPT of video [1min53sec]

Today, I am suspending my campaign for president.  I want to thank everyone who's taken this journey with me.  You have honored me with your support. 

I believe we've run a campaign you can be proud of.  We put forth bold and practical solutions to big problems like retiring our debt and fixing a broken immigration system.  This has been a problem solver's campaign.

However the centerpiece of my campaign has been securing our nation.  I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war we cannot afford to loose, and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party.  I believe we made enormous progress in this effort. 

Four months ago at the very first debate I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more America troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be Commander-in-Chief.  At that time, no one stepped forward to join me.  Today most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what's needed to secure our homeland.

I am far more confident today that our party will reject the Obama doctrine of leading from behind and will provide the strong leadership America needs to restore our military and take the fight to our enemies and do what it takes to make our country safe and preserve our way of life. 

This is a generational struggle that demands a strategy and a will to win.  I will continue to work every day to ensure that our party and our nation takes on this fight.  I'm suspending my campaign, but never my commitment to achieving security through strength for the American people

God bless our fighting men and women, and God bless America.

South Carolina Republican Party

SCGOP Statement on Senator Lindsey Graham suspending Presidential campaign

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore today issued a statement on South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham suspending his presidential campaign:
 
"Senator Graham gave 110% effort in seeking the Republican presidential nomination. We are proud of him for being the first South Carolinian in over sixty years to seriously compete for the White House.
 
"Senator Graham has an incredibly strong and loyal grassroots network in South Carolina. Given Senator Graham's huge primary victory in South Carolina just last year, the Graham network could have a major impact on South Carolina's presidential primary."
 
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Rubio for President

Marco Responds To Lindsey Graham Announcement 

While campaigning in New Hampshire today, Marco Rubio responded to Lindsey Graham's announcement to suspend his presidential campaign:

"Lindsey is someone I know personally. We work together in the Senate. We do not agree on everything on foreign policy, but he is a defender of a strong national defense as I am. I watched some of the debates he was in, some of the early debates, and I thought he was one of the most forceful voices on any of the debate stages about rebuilding our military. So we will miss that in the campaign, but I am sure he will continue to do that in his role in the Senate. And I personally, of course, think Lindsey is a good guy, a very funny guy. We will miss his humor on the campaign trail. We look forward to hearing more of it on the Senate floor." -- Marco Rubio

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Gilmore for America

Statement of Jim Gilmore Regarding the Candidacy of Sen. Lindsey Graham:

“Lindsey Graham’s campaign raised many serious issues of national security and defense, for which he should be praised.  As an adult in the race, he’s shown that the voters are anxious to hear solutions to the extraordinary threats and challenges our country faces in the years ahead.
Senator Graham was willing to say what the current Administration and Democrats for President won’t even recognize.

As the only remaining veteran in the race in either party, I am determined to keep raising both the threats we face and the ways we can deal with them, and to continue to advocate on the behalf of our current and future veterans.

As a veteran of the intelligence community and the U.S. Army in Europe and as Chairman of the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction before and after 9/11 gives me a unique background among the remaining field of Republican candidates for President in 2016.

Donald Trump’s bluster only goes so far. America needs a president who doesn’t need on-the-job training in national security, including intelligence and defense.  As a candidate with domestic executive, military and foreign policy experience, I will bring conservative adult
leadership to our cause.”

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American Bridge 21st Century

Goodbye Graham -- No Republicans Support Path To Citizenship

Jessica Mackler, president, American Bridge 21st Century: "Now that Marco Rubio and John McCain's fellow Gang of Eight'er, Lindsey Graham, is out of the GOP presidential race, not a single Republican candidate supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"It's clear that the conservative dynamics, where opposing comprehensive immigration reform has become a litmus test, favor Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump's hardline positions at the expense of ruining the party's credibility with one of the largest voting blocs in the general election. It's mind boggling how far the Party of Donald Trump has run to the extreme, far right fringes and failed to even acknowledge the GOP rebrand, much less implement any of its moderating elements."

Democratic National Committee

DNC Statement on Senator Lindsey Graham dropping out of the presidential race

“In its 2012 election autopsy, the Republican Party made a big deal about supporting immigration reform and reaching out to Hispanic voters. Three years later, the one presidential candidate who has consistently favored comprehensive immigration reform just dropped out of the race after attracting virtually no support. At the same time, the party’s front-runner has consistently demonized immigrant communities, while the party’s second-place candidate recently challenged the rest of the field to align with his extreme position of opposing legalization or citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Good job, good effort, GOP.” – Eric Walker, DNC Spokesperson.
 
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South Carolina Democratic Party

SCDP Statement on Senator Lindsey Graham Ending His Presidential Campaign

Columbia, SC – South Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Jason Perkey issued the following statement on Senator Lindsey Graham ending his bid for the White House.
 
"It comes as no surprise that SC Senator Lindsey Graham has chosen to end his campaign for the presidency.  Like many other GOP Presidential hopefuls, Senator Graham's campaign was never able to catch fire like extremist frontrunner Donald Trump's.  Now that the Senator will return his focus to representing his home state, we hope that he will convince his colleagues, Senator Tim Scott, and other Republicans in the South Carolina delegation to vote for the flood relief that South Carolinians desperately need."

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Fix the Debt
December 21, 2015

Senator Lindsey Graham Leaves Presidential Race: Comment from Maya MacGuineas, Head of Fix the Debt

Senator Lindsey Graham has been a voice of fiscal sanity in a presidential campaign filled with too many costly promises and too few specifics on savings. He made dealing with the debt a priority of his campaign and recognized that tough decisions need to be made to put our budget house in order. He has been willing to keep policy options on the table, which will be key in helping the next President govern in a fiscally responsible manner. We are sorry to see him leave the race.

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Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions

CRES Statement on Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Decision to Suspend 2016 Presidential Campaign

Washington, D.C. - James Dozier, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, released the following statement on Senator Lindsey Graham’s decision to step down from the 2016 presidential race:

“We want to thank Senator Graham for his commitment to America’s national, economic and environmental security. Throughout his long and distinguished career as a public servant, Senator Graham has been a leader on critical issues, including energy independence and environmental conservation. He has been a voice for common sense, conservative leadership on America’s clean energy future on the Senate floor and the presidential debate stage. Senator Graham continues to be a champion for the people of South Carolina and the rest of the country, and we look forward to continuing to support his leadership in the United States Senate,” Dozier said.

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Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization advocating for comprehensive and responsible solutions to our nation’s energy issues and believes America can lead the world in developing responsible energy that can strengthen our economy, improve public health, reduce pollution and stabilize fuel prices.