The GOP presidential field shrank again as Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Jan. 19 that he was withdrawing from the race, CNN.com reported.
Perry threw his support behind fellow conservative Newt Gingrich, a development that could alter the dynamics of the race as ratings shift before the South Carolina primary.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney is in the lead, but Gingrich has closed the gap between the two substantially in the past week.
At a press conference in Charleston, S.C., Perry said, “I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We’ve had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have, and Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?” Gingrich said he was “honored and very humbled to have Perry’s endorsement.”
In the past few weeks, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman have also left the race.