Democratic White House field shrinks to 3 as Chafee pulls out

The number of Democrats vying for the White House narrowed to three Friday, after former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the race.

His website, chafee2016.com, released the transcript of a speech he delivered Friday announcing that he was ending his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"After much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today," said Chafee, 62, according to the text of the speech delivered at the Democratic National Committee Women's Leadership Forum in Washington.

"I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance to be given to peace," he said, in remarks that also called for less US emphasis on military solutions to solve the world's problems -- one of his major campaign themes.

A long-shot contender viewed as a somewhat quirky figure, Chafee was a Republican for many years, succeeding his late father in the US Senate before going on to become his state's governor.

But he failed to attract many donors or much public interest in his quixotic White House bid.

He pulls out of the Democratic race just days after another Democrat deemed to have equally slim chances of locking up the nomination -- former US Senator Jim Webb -- abandoned his bid to win the party's presidential nomination.

With Chafee's departure, three Democratic presidential hopefuls remain: former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, US Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley.

Source: AFP