WASHINGTON — Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore has announced that he has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Gilmore failed to garner much voter or financial support for his campaign. Other candidates who attracted greater interest have already left the race.

He was not in South Carolina this week and did not qualify for the debate scheduled there for Saturday.

In a statement, he pledged to support the eventual Republican nominee.

“The difficulty of the debate structure combined with the national media coverage of the candidates made it impossible for him to continue his campaign,” the statement read.

Gilmore hoped his combined executive and national security experience along with his conservative track record would differentiate him from the other candidates, which included a handful other former and sitting governors. He was the last veteran in the race but he failed to drum up interest among voters in Iowa or New Hampshire and appeared in  few debates.

He previously said that the race had become more about entertainment than good public policy and he was concerned that candidates relied on fearmongering to draw support.