Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina has dropped out of the United States presidential race.
Fiorina, who had been running as a pre-selection candidate for the Republican Party, announced on Facebook Thursday morning Australian time the suspension of her campaign.
“While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them.”
The presidential hopeful performed poorly in the opening rounds of the pre-selection voting up against higher profile Republican rivals such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Fiorina garnered just 2 percent of votes in Iowa, then 4 percent in New Hampshire earlier this week.
In September, the Rolling Stone magazine reported Trump making disparaging remarks to his staff about Fiorina’s appearance: "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!”
Fiorina was appointed the head of giant vendor HP in 1999, becoming the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company. She oversaw the massive acquisition of Compaq in 2002, but was forced to resign in 2005 after reported pressure from the HP board over the company’s performance.
In her social media statement, Fiorina seemed to urge women to not to automatically vote for the Democrats’ Hillary Clinton, citing that feminism is “not about ideology”.
“To young girls and women across the country, I say: do not let others define you. Do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you're a woman. That is not feminism,” she wrote on Facebook.
-1.jpg&w=100&c=1&s=0)
.png&w=100&c=1&s=0)
