Roemer Drops Out of GOP Race

Former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer is dropping out of the Republican presidential primary race, but will continue to run for president by seeking a third-party nomination. The Chicago Tribune reports:

The former Louisiana governor will make his plans official Thursday at a news conference in Santa Monica, within hours of another Republican debate that he's been excluded from.

It's that fact that is driving his decision. The party and the major television networks have "turned their backs on the democratic process" by excluding him, even though he's a former governor and congressman, he said in a statement.

Roemer has been waging a campaign based in part on ending the influence of special interests in American politics. He capped donations to his campaign at just $100, and raised about $340,000 from individual donors.

He says he will now run for the nomination of Americans Elect, an independent group seeking ballot access in all 50 states that plans to hold an Internet primary to choose a bipartisan ticket.

Elliot Ackerman of Americans Elect recently told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that his organization wants to break the "anticompetitive duopoly" of the two major parties by fielding a candidate who won't be forced "into the two narrow boxes that the two major parties have regarding policy positions." Could Roemer be the candidate to fit that mold? On the Americans Elect website, he currently has 413 supporters and rising.