Buddy Roemer Announces End of GOP Campaign for Third Party Nomination

Former Louisiana Gov. Charles Buddy Roemer has been running for the Republican presidential nomination - not that anyone would know it.

After being out from the GOP debates and essentially dismissed by the mainstream media, Roemer announced on Thursday that he is abandoning the Republican campaign and will instead seek the nomination of the Reform Party, in addition to the direct nomination of Americas Elect.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Roemer said the GOP and major news networks have once again turned their backs on the Democratic process by excluding him from the Republican debate in Arizona on Tuesday night.

It is time to heal our nation and build a coalition of Americans who are fed up with the status quo and the partisan gridlock that infects Washington, Roemer said, explaining why he has decided to seek both the Reform Party and Americans Elect nomination. Together, we will take on the special interests that control our leaders and end the corruptive influence of money in politics so we can focus on America's top priority - jobs.

Roemer, a former Louisiana congressman and governor, has been running his presidential bid as a good government candidate, with a heavy emphasis on campaign finance reform and getting special interest money out of politics.

The candidate refuses to accept campaign contributions over $100 and is an outspoken critic of political action committees.

His campaign only raised about $340,000 as of Jan. 31, according to Federal Election Committee filings.

Roemer served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1980s, followed by four years as governor of Louisiana, where he switched to the Republican Party late in his second term.