Scott Walker has dropped out of the Republican race for president.
The Wisconsin governor held a news conference Monday evening in Madison, where he became the second major GOP candidate to quit the race.
"Today I believe I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race, so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of field," he said.
One of the last Republicans to enter the race, Walker joins former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as one of the first to leave it. He will return to his job in Wisconsin as governor, where his term runs through 2018.
Walker, 47, tried to appeal to religious conservatives, tea party conservatives and the more traditional GOP base. He tried to cast himself as an unintimidated conservative fighter who had a record of victories in a state that hasn't voted Republican for president since 1984.
