Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, who entered the presidential race as an outspoken critic of former President Donald J. Trump but never gained traction, suspended his bid for the Republican nomination on Tuesday.

“Today, I am suspending my campaign for president and driving back to Arkansas,” he said in a statement after finishing with less than 1 percent support in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. “My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front-runner did not sell in Iowa. I stand by the campaign I ran.”

[Asa Hutchinson embarrassed himself with this campaign. If he wanted to promote an alternative to Trump, he could have chosen to endorse someone with an actual chance and who had been relevant in the past decade. Instead, he chose to fragment the race further without any compelling message or unique agenda other than ‘don’t choose Trump.’ — Ed]