Former US Vice President Mike Pence announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign on Saturday.

Pence was competing in a crowded field to win the Republican presidential nomination.

"To the American people I say: This is not my time," he told attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition's conference in Las Vegas.

Pence failed to gain traction in the polls, his campaign donations languished behind his rivals, and he appeared not to qualify for the third Republican primary debate in November.

Running against Trump

Pence is the first major candidate to drop out of the race that has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump. 

He publicly broke with Trump after the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Pence did not endorse another candidate in his withdrawal speech on Saturday.

However, he took an apparent swipe at Trump by calling on Americans to elect who can lead with "civility" and who appeals to "the better angels of our nature."

zc/jcg (AP, Reuters)