Rick Perry's Iowa chairman steps down from presidential campaign
The Iowa chairman of Rick Perry's presidential campaign, Sam Clovis, has stepped down, CBS News has confirmed.
"There are many people across the country who continue to work to elect Rick Perry as president," Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashad told CBS News in a statement. "We wish Sam the best in his next endeavor."
The news, first reported by the Associated Press, marks another strike against Perry's faltering 2016 presidential bid. The former Texas governor has struggled to as raise as much money as some competitors, and his mediocre polling numbers left him off the primetime stage of the Fox News GOP primary debate on August 6.
Clovis told the AP he didn't want his decision to step down to be seen as "anything negative at all."
"The governor is a remarkable man and I've been honored to be part of his campaign," he explained.
Earlier this month, CBS News reported that staffers with Perry's presidential bid are working without pay. Some of them have been working on a volunteer basis, but campaign chairman Jeff Miller gave staffers the green light to look for jobs elsewhere.
Nashad emphasized that Perry's bid will go on, despite its current struggles. "Gov. Perry remains committed to competing in Iowa, as well as South Carolina and New Hampshire," she said.
CBS News' Alan He contributed to this report.