A few moments ago, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina announced she was dropping out of the primary race for the GOP nomination.
“This campaign was always about citizenship—taking back our country from a political class that only serves the big, the powerful, the wealthy, and the well connected,” she said via a message posted to her campaign’s Facebook page. “Election after election, the same empty promises are made and the same poll-tested stump speeches are given, but nothing changes. I’ve said throughout this campaign that I will not sit down and be quiet. I’m not going to start now. While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them.”
Fiorina said the Republican Party must “fight alongside these Americans,” as well. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO said the party must end “crony capitalism” and fix the nation’s “festering problems” by holding the government’s “bloated, inept” bureaucracy accountable.
“Republicans must stand for conservative principles that lift people up and recognize all Americans have the right to fulfill their God-given potential,” she added.
Fiorina is not the first woman to run for president, but she used the platform of her campaign as a means to encourage other women to stand up. In conceding defeat in her quest for the presidency, she continued that message.
“To young girls and women across the country, I say: do not let others define you. Do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you’re a woman,” she said. “That is not feminism. Feminism doesn’t shut down conversations or threaten women. It is not about ideology. It is not a weapon to wield against your political opponent. A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses and uses all her God-given gifts.”
Fiorina said leaders are not born, but rather are made. She urged her supporters to “choose leadership.” She then shared a message she frequently used on the campaign trail about servant leadership.
“As I have said to the many wonderful Americans I have met throughout this campaign, a leader is a servant whose highest calling is to unlock potential in others,” she said. “I will continue to serve in order to restore citizen government to this great nation so that together we may fulfill our potential.”
Fiorina did not endorse another GOP candidate, but frequently said she would support whomever was the eventual party nominee.
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