Jeb Bush suspends US presidential campaign

Jeb Bush, the son and brother of former American presidents, has suspended his own race to become the Republican candidate.

Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Source: AAP

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Saturday he was suspending his campaign after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary.

With counting continuing, Bush is a distant fifth in the Republican party's South Carolina primary, behind Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and winner Donald Trump.

Bush was at one time the frontrunner to win the party's nomination, being the son and brother of former presidents.

Bush, who also fared poorly in earlier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, said the race had been "hard fought" but that voters of those three states had spoken. In what appeared to be a jab at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, whom Bush has accused of lacking ideas, the former Florida Governor said, "ideas matter, policy matters."

Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother to former President George W. Bush, entered the 2016 campaign as the favorite, but was unable to convert a sizable fundraising advantage into success at the polls.