Ohio Governor John Kasich has dropped out of the presidential race after struggling to gain traction against Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

“As I suspend my campaign today I have renewed faith, deeper faith that the Lord will show me the way forward,” he told supporters in Columbus.

Mr Kasich only won his home state but had hoped to lobby for his candidacy at the Republican convention in July.

Mr Trump holds a commanding lead and is closing in on the nomination.

His likely opponent will be Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who lost the Indiana primary to Bernie Sanders.

It was a surprise win for the Vermont senator who continues to attract huge crowds to his rallies, but his opponent has an almost insurmountable lead in votes and delegates.

Speaking to CNN about taking on Mr Trump, Mrs Clinton said he was a “loose cannon” who had run a “negative, bullying” campaign.

The New York businessman has made a series of controversial remarks ever since he launched his White House bid by labelling Mexicans as rapists and criminals.

Several senior Republicans said on Wednesday they would not back him, with some saying they would prefer to vote for Mrs Clinton.

The race for the Republican presidential nomination has taken more than a year to unfold, but in a flash it is over.

Ted Cruz’s withdrawal from the race on Tuesday night meant John Kasich’s long-shot path to the nomination – deadlocked delegates in a contested convention turning to him as a compromise candidate – was definitively closed.

The Ohio governor, once thought to be the saviour of the moderate, establishment wing of the Republican Party, could have soldiered on, but with little money and no hope of winning, such a course bordered on the absurd.

Although Mr Trump had effectively sewn up the nomination regardless of what Mr Kasich decided to do, his withdrawal does have one benefit. Now the New York businessman will not have to make even pro forma campaign stops in California, which holds its primary on 6 June.

Just last week the front-runner faced massive protests while attending the state's Republican convention. California looked to be a powder keg for Mr Trump in the coming weeks. Thanks to Mr Kasich, it has been defused.

•Excerpted from a BBC report. Photo shows Donald Trump.