Roemer ends campaign for president

BATON ROUGE, La., May 31 (UPI) -- Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer said Thursday he has ended his campaign as an independent candidate for president.

Roemer, a former Democrat who was unsuccessful in his attempt to be included in Republican primary debates last year, had decided to seek the presidency through the Reform Party and Americans Elect, a non-partisan, non-profit group that planned a national online primary.

But Americans Elect folded this month without selecting a nominee, and Roemer's campaign struggled to gain attention and interest, Politico reported.

Roemer said in a statement he would start a new organization that will aim to remove corporate and special interest money from politics.

"As I am no longer a candidate for president, I am free to pledge a good portion of the rest of my life to enacting campaign reform in the halls of Congress and the corridors of the White House," he said.

"Instead of using my right to the floor of Congress to lobby for corporate clients, I will lobby for the American people who want reform. To be successful, this endeavor must cross party lines."

He said the two major parties are "addicted to special interests and corporate money."

"I have said it many times: They are joined at the billfold. The two parties have been graveyards of reform too often in the past. They don't want reform. They only want victory and re-election."