The Republican presidential field has narrowed further with two more contenders, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, dropping out of the White House race in the wake of poor performances in the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire.
At its peak, the Republican field was crowded with 17 presidential hopefuls, including Indian American Bobby Jindal. It’s now down to seven -- Billionaire Donald Trump, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore.
Unable to find traction in a race that has come to be dominated by Trump and a couple of other players, candidates without a realistic chance have been trooping out in recent weeks.
Immediately after the Iowa results last week, three aspirants dropped out (Senator Rand Paul, former Senator Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee), followed by Christie and Fiorina, the only woman in the pack, after the New Hampshire outcome.
Five others had quit the race before the primaries. They included Jindal, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator lindsey Graham.
After the ensuing South Carolina and Nevada primaries later this month, and the Super Tuesday contests in nearly a dozen States on March 1, some more may pull out of the race, leaving it to three or four aspirants to fight it out.