Former Cranston mayor Steve Laffey drops presidential bid – with harsh parting words for GOP

Former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey is out – of the 2024 presidential campaign and the Republican Party.

The long-shot presidential candidate who has been running for the GOP nomination since March, on Friday said he had "failed" to change the course of the country and the Republican Party, whose current state he described as a "laughingstock."

"Today, as I choose to end my campaign for President of the United States, I reflect on my dedication to the Republican Party," Laffey said in a news release. "The Republican Party has become a laughingstock. From a celebrity-driven race for the Presidency, to disturbing events in the House of Representatives, it has become painfully apparent that the Republican Party no longer exists."

Laffey was mayor of Cranston from 2003 to 2007. After a failed Senate primary campaign against Lincoln Chafee, he moved to Colorado.

This spring he moved temporarily to New Hampshire to campaign in that state's primary, but never caught fire with GOP voters there and was not able to raise significant money.

After disaffiliating from the Republican Party, Laffey plans to remain an independent and not join the Democratic Party, spokesman Mike Fahey said.

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Known for loquaciousness, Laffey's announcement that he would end his campaign included a nearly 1,000-word denouncement of the contemporary political landscape. A central theme was what he sees as the malign impact of former president Donald Trump on the GOP.

"As the first candidate to challenge the dominance of Trump's influence, I believed there was a yearning in the Republican heart for a candidate free from his shadow," Laffey wrote. "But the past months have proven me wrong. The media, which claims to value confronting problems head-on, often seems to be more in favor of sensationalism over substance. Serious policies and honest debates have taken a backseat, and it's disheartening to witness candidates utter falsehoods without fear of accountability."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ex-mayor Steve Laffey drops presidential bid, calls GOP laughingstock