White House 2016: Bobby Jindal Drops out Presidential Race

Bobby Jindal has dropped out of the race for the White House after struggling for months to gain traction amid a sprawling field of Republican candidates.

Although the Louisiana governor showed some strength in the early voting state of Iowa, he consistently performed poorly in national polls.

Bobby Jindal, 44, was shut out of the main Republican debates, relegated to secondary stages.

“This is not my time,” he said on November 17.

The Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants added diversity to the Republican field, which includes African-American neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

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However, Governor Bobby Jindal sought to distance himself from his Indian heritage during the campaign.

“We are not Indian-Americans, African-Americans, Irish-Americans, rich Americans, or poor Americans. We are all Americans,” he told supporters when he launched his campaign in June.

Unpopular in his home state after a budget shortfall, Bobby Jindal had been considered a long-shot for the nomination.

During his campaign, Bobby Jindal sought to appeal to evangelical Christian voters, taking hard lines on gay rights and Islamic extremism.

However, he was courting the same slice of the electorate as rival candidates such as Ben Carson, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Bobby Jindal joins former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who have also suspended their campaigns for president.

Fourteen Republicans remain in the presidential race.