Larry Elder Suspends GOP 2024 Presidential Candidate Campaign, Endorses Trump

Larry Elder. The Epoch Times

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Larry Elder has suspended his campaign and thrown his support behind fellow conservative former President Donald Trump.

In an Oct. 26 statement, the talk radio host said he had made the “difficult decision” to end his White House bid following careful consideration and consultation with his campaign team.

Mr. Elder, previously an EpochTV host who first announced his campaign in April, thanked those who have supported him throughout the last few months, noting he has been “truly honored” by their enthusiasm and dedication.

“Throughout my campaign, I have been steadfast in my belief that the biggest issues facing our nation are the crisis of fatherlessness, the dangerous lie that America is systemically racist, the need for an amendment to the Constitution to set federal spending to a fixed percentage of the GDP—otherwise government gets bigger whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, and the need to remove the [George] Soros-backed [district attorneys] across the country who refuse to endorse the law,” Mr. Elder wrote.

“The breakdown of the family structure and the absence of positive father figures in the lives of many children have far-reaching consequences for our society, including the crime wave we are currently seeing in America today,” he continued.

Elder Misses GOP Debates

“I hope that my campaign has helped shine a light on these critical issues and sparked important conversations about how we can solve them,” Mr. Elder added.

Mr. Elder did not appear on stage during the first presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in August after failing to meet the donor and polling requirements set by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

The Los Angeles native later threatened to sue the RNC for not including him in the debate, claiming the “rules of the game were rigged” and the “establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage.”

It is unclear, however, if he filed a lawsuit against the political committee.

Mr. Elder previously ran against Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a failed 2021 recall election, in which he received 3.5 million votes—or 49 percent of the votes against the governor split among 46 replacement candidates.

Trump Endorsement

When he launched his campaign in April, Mr. Elder, who has spent decades in the media industry, said he had a “moral, religious, and patriotic duty to get back to a country that’s been so good to my family and to me.”

The Republican, who is pro-life, focused heavily on issues such as securing the border, school choice, limiting government spending, and lowering taxation.

However, like many other GOP candidates, Mr. Elder found himself trailing behind President Trump in multiple polls.

In his statement Thursday, the 71-year-old said that in exiting the presidential race, he will instead be endorsing President Trump, citing his bold leadership style and policies that put America first.

“Now that I am exiting the race, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald Trump for president of the United States,” Mr. Elder wrote. “His leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America First principles and policies that have benefited our great nation. We must unite behind Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden and fight back against Biden’s unprecedented election interference and the left’s destruction of America.”

Mr. Elder joins in the latest major candidate to bow out of the 2024 GOP presidential race, following in the footsteps of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, and businessman Perry Johnson.

Brad Jones contributed to this report.