BREAKING: Mike Pence Stuns GOP Crowd By Abruptly Announcing He’s Dropping Out of 2024 Race

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, suspending his campaign to secure the Republican nomination.

Pence caught the crowd and many political observers by surprise with the unexpected announcement while speaking, along with other candidates, at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference on Saturday.

The former Indiana governor and vice president to Donald Trump said that he could not in good conscience have stayed out of the race to begin with, but that it has “become clear” to him that he will not win.

“The Bible tells us that there’s a time for every purpose under heaven,” said Pence. “Traveling across the country over the past six months, I came here to say, it’s become clear to me: This is not my time.”

“So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today,” said Pence.

The announcement caught some political observers and media by surprise but comes as Pence was facing questions of whether he would have enough support to make it to the third debate stage.

Although his poll numbers never really took off, his fundraising was not inconsequential, and Pence’s departure from the race may see some donors still resisting Trump move to the remaining challengers, such as former SC governor Nikki Haley, current FL governor Ron DeSantis, SC Sen. Tim Scott, or even former NJ governor Chris Christie or former AR governor Asa Hutchison.

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

Watch the clip above, via C-SPAN.