Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said today he was not quitting the Republican Party's nomination race to contest the US presidential election in November.
Despite trailing far behind rival John McCain and the withdrawal of Mitt Romney this week, Mr Huckabee told a conference of conservative activists he had not intention of being "a fly in the ointment".
"Am I quitting? Let's get that settled right now. No, I'm not," Mr Huckabee said.
Mr McCain, an Arizona senator, has built an almost insurmountable lead in delegates to the Republican Party's nominating convention.
But Mr Huckabee is in step on issues important to many Republican voters with his opposition to gay marriage, abortion and embryonic stem cell research, but he has not managed to attract much backing beyond Christian conservatives.
However, he who only five of the 21 states on Super Tuesday, will have a tough task overcoming Mr McCain, who has more than 700 of the 1,081 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.
Republicans in the states still to hold nominating contests "deserve more than a coronation, they deserve an election," Mr Huckabee said to applause.
"I know the pundits and I know what they say - that the math doesn't work out," he said. "Folks, I didn't major in math, I majored in miracles, and I still believe in those too," the Baptist preacher said.
He also took a veiled swipe at Democrat hopeful Hillary Clinton, noting that in Arkansas, he was "the only person who's ever run against the Clinton political machine and beat it."
Mrs Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, preceded Mr Huckabee as Arkansas governor.
The Democratic Party's race is far harder to call, with Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton nearly tied in the delegates count.