This post was updated at 6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination for president on Tuesday, saying he had "come to the realization that this is not my time."
The son of Indian immigrants, Jindal said that when his parents came to the United States 45 years ago, they told him he could accomplish anything in this country. But ultimately this time, his dreams of the White House fell short.
"Never in their wildest dreams did they think their son would have the opportunity to serve as governor of Louisiana or to run for president," Jindal said on Fox News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier.
The two-term governor had struggled to raise money and gain any traction in the race, consistently relegated to the lower undercard debates at each of the past four Republican debates. At the end of September, he had just $260,000 in his campaign account.
Overshadowed by outsider candidates like Donald Trump and neurosurgeon Ben Carson, for a time Jindal had focused his fire at the wealthy real estate magnate, blasting him as "a narcissist" and "a carnival act" this fall. But it wasn't enough.
Jindal becomes the third Republican candidate to suspend his campaign, joining former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Fourteen major contenders still remain in the crowded race, with just over two months until the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, 2016.
After Jindal's term ends early next year, he says, he will return to where he got his start — the policy sector, working at America Next, a think tank he created.
"I realize that our country is off on the wrong track right now," Jindal said in a statement. "Everyone knows that, but don't forget, this is still the greatest country in the history of the world — and every single one of us should start every day by thanking God that we are fortunate enough to be U.S. citizens."
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