In exit, Walker calls for 'positive conservative message'

UPDATE: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he was “being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field” as he announced the end of his presidential campaign today. Walker is the second candidate to drop out of the race after former Texas Gov. Rick Perry made his exit earlier.

Other Republican contenders should consider bowing out of the race, too, Walker said, and soon, so “voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current frontrunner.”

Donald Trump, who leads polls for the GOP presidential nomination, responded with uncharacteristic restraint, tweeting, “I got to know @ScottWalker well—he’s a very nice person and has a great future.”

OUR EARLIER STORY (5 p.m.): Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is pulling out of the presidential race after failing to drum up enough support for a sustained campaign.

Walker rose to national prominence a few years ago by winning a knock-down, drag-out fight with big labor that curtailed the right of most public employees, except police and firefighters, to bargain collectively for their benefits. Opponents led an unsuccessful campaign to recall Walker, who after winning a second term would boast of being the only governor elected three times in four years.

Though Walker ranked high in early GOP presidential polls, he struggled to stand out in the increasingly crowded field as candidates such as Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina rose in popularity over the summer. Rumors he had spent too much too soon arose as Walker reined in his campaign to focus on winning support in Iowa. But after unremarkable performances in the two recent GOP debates, it seemed even less likely that Walker could keep his campaign going into 2016.