Ohio Governor John Kasich, the last challenger to stand in Donald Trump’s path to the Republican nomination, has dropped out of the U.S. presidential race, making the latter the party’s presumptive nominee.
Kasich announced the move last night.
“I have always said that the Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone. And as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward, and fulfill the purpose of my life,” CNN quoted Kasich as saying in Columbus, Ohio.
Despite not having a clear to victory, he was not yet ready to quit.
Kasich’s decision to end his campaign comes a day after his other rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, suspended his campaign.
Meanwhile, Trump acknowledged Kasich is “doing the right thing” by dropping out of the presidential race.
“That’s good. That’s good. You’re just telling me that for the first time,” CNN quoted Trump as saying.
Although Kasich has been critical of Trump’s rhetoric and many of his proposals on the campaign trail, the New York billionaire said that he had a very good relationship with the former.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is yet to dispatch her rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.
Kasich has served 18 years in the House before a lucrative stint at Lehman Brothers. He was long viewed as a 2016 dark horse running for the presidential race with other candidates such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.
The 63-year-old now plans to return to Ohio, where his second term as the Governor ends in 2018.
