US Republican Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
He had hoped to become the first African American to secure the Republican nomination.
He told Fox News "I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they're telling me: 'Not now Tim'."
Although Tim Scott was initially very well funded, he failed to make an appreciable impact in opinion polls.
He has not endorsed any of the remaining candidates, and he ruled out running for vice-president. He has been a senator since 2013.
Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead over Republican rivals in opinion polls.
Senator Scott's decision came just two months before the presidential primary season kicks off in Iowa.
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll estimated he had just 4% of voters' support, putting him fifth place in the Republican race and trailing behind Mr Trump.
Some major donors who supported Mr Scott say they are now switching their allegiance to former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who is also from South Carolina. She was widely seen as a better performer than Mr Scott in the Republican TV debates. Mr Trump did not participate.
Having entered the race in May for the Republican nomination, Mr Scott, 58, presented himself as a deeply conservative candidate who could do a better job of healing US political divisions than Mr Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The only black man to ever serve in both chambers of Congress, Mr Scott is the grandson of a cotton field worker and the son of a single mother, and he has often spoken of how his family rose "from cotton to Congress" in a lifetime.
BBC