Buddy Roemer Drops Out of 2012 Race

The man you may not have known was in the 2012 race is officially out: Buddy Roemer suspended his presidential campaign today, per an announcement on his website. "After 17 months of a wonderful campaign, the lack of ballot access in all 50 states makes the quest impossible for now," writes the former Louisiana governor, who battled for the GOP nomination before seeking nods from the Reform Party and Americans Elect. Some states' ballots don't include the Reform Party; Americans Elect couldn't settle on a nominee.

Roemer tells the Washington Post that his "strategy was a 50-ballot approach, trying to generate enough interest in reform to get to a 15% national poll standing"—enough to get a spot in the fall debates. "But the failure of Americans Elect and our inability to achieve the nomination really took away our last chance of ballot access." Roemer's campaign refused to take donations over $100 or any PAC money, leaving it "doomed," writes Aaron Blake at the Post. Click to read Roemer's lengthy statement. (More Buddy Roemer stories.)