Mark Everson ended his dark horse presidential candidacy campaign on Thursday. The former IRS commissioner had been running for President since March and his candidacy lasted longer than some of the more established candidates like Governor Scott Walker.
“While encouraged by my interactions with voters over the past eight months, particularly in recent weeks throughout New Hampshire, I simply have not generated enough media exposure or funding to continue,” he wrote. FEC filings show that Everson’s campaign was largely self-funded with a $225,000 loan.
Everson failed to gain traction in the polls, although most polls failed to include him. Among political journalists, his campaign was a running joke and they would mention him on Twitter whenever someone tweeted the number of candidates.
[Related: Listen to Mark Everson’s interview with TKNN’s Jungle Cast.]
Despite his nonexistent polling, Everson was an active campaigner. He held many events in Iowa and New Hampshire, where he shifted his focus later in the campaign.
Everson, a former IRS commissioner under the Bush 43 Administration, billed himself as a serious candidate running for President. He pledged to limit himself to one term and reform the tax code.