¡¡ Former President of US Red Cross Elizabeth Dole announced October 20 that she pulled out of the Republican presidential race due to lack of money.

¡¡ "The bottom line is money," she told a news conference in Washington. "It would be futile to continue." Latest campaign spending reports suggest Mrs Dole raised more than $1m from July to September. In the same period, front-runner, George W Bush raised twenty times that sum.

¡¡ Her departure leaves front-runner George W. Bush, Arizona Senator John McCain and conservative millionaire Steve Forbes in the top tier of the Republican field. Dole is the fifth Republican candidate to drop out this year.

¡¡ Four other candidates are also vying for conservative voters, including Pat Buchanan, who is planning to leave the Republican Party to seek the Reform Party nomination.