(CNN) Republican candidate Leslie Gibson has dropped out of the race for Maine's House of Representatives following backlash from controversial comments he made about two student survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. "I am not walking away with my head hung low. I am walking away with my head held high," Gibson told the Portland Press Herald on Friday, saying he had made the decision after conversations with family and friends. The Maine candidate drew outrage after posting insulting tweets about two Parkland students -- Emma González and David Hogg -- in light of their national gun control efforts. The Twitter account used to make the remarks appears to have been deactivated and Gibson's campaign account has been set to private.

Source: CNN March 17, 2018 17:26 UTC