Lindsey Graham is making it clear: He does not plan to exit stage follow Rick Perry and Scott Walker out of the 2016 race.
Amid poor polling numbers nationally and in his home state, Graham told “The View” Tuesday that he has no intention of dropping his 2016 bid any time soon.
“I have been in the military most of my life. You don’t drop out. You don’t get a pass,” the South Carolina senator explained. “When you go to Iraq and Afghanistan, you’re a volunteer. How many people have gone three or four times? A lot. So they’re not going to quit, I’m not going to quit.”
“No, hell no, I’m not gonna drop out,” said Graham, who currently ranks 12th in the Washington Examiner‘s latest power rankings.
Graham is coming off a strong performance in the undercard debate two weeks ago, but is worried about missing the debate stage altogether next month’s CNBC debate. Christian Ferry, Graham’s campaign manager, released a two-page letter Monday to the Republican National Committee lambasting them for “winnowing down” the GOP field ahead of the Oct. 28th event in Boulder, Colo.
“The RNC should not be in the business of winnowing down primary fields; in fact, the rules specifically forbid it without a vote of the committee. No such vote has taken place,” Ferry said in the letter.
While the criteria for the debate has not been released, a top official at the RNC intimated that the undercard debate could be scrapped in its entirety.
