Donald Trump won the Republican nomination from a huge cast of other candidates who swore they were in the race for the long haul, right up until the point they called it quits.
Candidates for any office routinely show confidence in public, even when they are holding frantic conversations with aides and family members about exactly how they’ll exit the race.
This year, Trump’s surprise candidacy and quick surge to the top put even more pressure on others to talk about how they just needed to survive another month, or another series of primaries, before Trump would start to fade.
But these bold public predictions collapsed one after the other, and in many cases, candidates were left promising to fight on just hours before they ended up leaving the race.
Below are some of the last public claims that the most competitive candidates and their staffs made before exiting:
John Kasich, dropped out May 4
“Governor Kasich will continue to campaign and offer the voters a clear choice for our country.” — Kasich spokesman, May 3.
Ted Cruz, dropped out May 3
“We’re going to go to contested convention. When we arrive in Cleveland, I’m going to have a bunch of delegates. Donald is going to have a bunch of delegates. And it’s go to be a battle to see who can earn the support of a majority of the delegates elected by the people.” — Cruz, May 1.
Marco Rubio, dropped out March 15
“Tomorrow’s the day — tomorrow’s the day where we’re going to shock the country, and we’re going to do what needs to be done. We’re going to win the 99 delegates here in Florida and it’s going to give us the momentum we need to go into Arizona and Utah and beyond, because what’s at stake is too important.” — Rubio, March 14.
Ben Carson, dropped out March 2
“There’s a lot of momentum and I think even more newcomers are getting a closer look at the candidates and they’re seeing who acts presidential and who acts like something else.” — Carson, Feb. 29.
Jeb Bush, dropped out Feb. 20
“I think we’ll do better than fifth here. I’m in it for the long haul.” — Bush, on his chances in South Carolina, Feb. 15 (he came in fourth).
Jim Gilmore, dropped out Feb. 12
Gilmore tweeted that he is “#StillStanding” on Feb. 3.
Started out as 1 of 17 GOP Candidates, now with Rand Paul & Rick Santorum out, 1 or 9. #StillStanding
— Jim Gilmore (@gov_gilmore) February 3, 2016
Carly Fiorina, dropped out Feb. 10
“Despite the efforts of the media and professional political class to stand in her way, Carly will not stop fighting to take our country back.” — Fiorina spokeswoman on Feb. 6.
Chris Christie, dropped out Feb. 10
“The whole race changed Saturday.” — Christie, after his debate victory over Rubio, Feb. 9.
