Perry Drops Out, Endorses Gingrich in U.S. Presidential Race

Texas Governor Rick Perry brought down the curtain Thursday on his gaffe-plagued U.S. presidential campaign and endorsed Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination.

Perry's campaign had been flagging but with Gingrich closing on frontrunner Mitt Romney ahead of the all-important South Carolina primary, his departure could leave a big imprint on the race to find the nominee to face President Barack Obama in November.

"I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign. Therefore today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States," Perry said.

"As a Texan, I've never shied away from a fight, particularly when I considered the cause to be righteous, but ... I know when it's time to make a strategic retreat," he told reporters in North Charleston, South Carolina.

It was an ignominious end for the tough-talking Texan, who seemed to have answered the prayers of core Republicans when he entered the race in August, vaulting to the front of the pack as the ultimate non-Romney candidate.

But the photogenic 61-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran with a thick crop of dark hair came unstuck in the debates, displaying a weak grasp of policy and making a series of embarrassing gaffes.

His final act, a qualified endorsement of Gingrich, could however be telling as it came just 48 hours before a crucial primary in South Carolina, where the former House speaker is hot on Romney's heels.

"I believe that Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We have had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?" Perry said as he quit the race.

Gingrich had trailed Romney by double-digits in South Carolina polls. But the latest surveys, after a bravura debate performance by Gingrich on Monday, showed him closing fast on the former Massachusetts governor and multi-millionaire venture capitalist.

Gingrich has worked to position himself as the strongest conservative challenger to Romney, who faces stubborn doubts about his conservative credentials and has yet to rally a majority of Republicans behind him.

At a campaign event shortly after Perry's announcement, Gingrich told a crowd he was "very honored and very humbled" to have the governor's endorsement.

The four remaining candidates -- Gingrich, Romney, Christian conservative Rick Santorum and veteran Texas congressman Ron Paul -- will battle it out on Thursday night in the final debate before Saturday's vote.

The Perry announcement completes a bad week for Romney, who was originally declared the winner in the first nominating state, Iowa, but learned Thursday after a final count that Santorum was the narrowest of victors.

Romney won convincingly in second-to-vote New Hampshire on January 10 and has since been seen as the man to beat in the race for the Republican nomination.

Perry urged supporters to rally around Gingrich, saying the ultimate goal was to unseat Obama and turn around a flailing American economy that he blamed on the Democratic president's failing policies.

"We can't lose track of the ultimate objective in carrying out our mission, and that objective is not only to defeat President Obama, but to replace him with a conservative leader who will bring about real change," he said.

"Our country is hurting, make no mistake about that. 13 million people out of work. 50 million of our citizens on food stamps. $15 trillion national debt and growing.

"We need bold, conservative leadership that will take on the entrenched interests and give the American people their country back. I've always believed the mission is greater than the man."

After a series of earlier stumbles, Perry appeared to put the final nail in his campaign's coffin in mid-November when he forgot a crucial part of his stump speech and stammered for an agonizing 53 seconds.

The states' rights champion named the departments of commerce and education as targets for elimination but could not come up with the third, the energy department.

"The third one, I can't, I'm sorry, I can't. Oops," he concluded.

In his exit speech Thursday, there was another cringe-worthy moment when Perry paused after saying: "As a former Air Force pilot I don't get confused." Prepared remarks showed he intended to say something quite different.