Perry to drop out of race and endorse Newt

Politico:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to end his presidential campaign Thursday and endorse Newt Gingrich, two sources confirm to POLITICO. 

An announcement is expected for 11 a.m. in South Carolina.

The move comes as Gingrich tries to consolidate conservative support ahead of Saturday’s primary, aiming to unite the voters who had been splitting between him, Perry and Rick Santorum. 

The discord in Perryworld was evident even as the candidate prepared to drop out. 

Top officials in Texas said they were unaware of his intentions and as late as this morning said they genuinely didn’t know whether he was still running.

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Perry was never able to recover from the mistakes he made in earlier debates, even though he did improve his performances.  I think he would have made a good President, but the public persona after the debate problems made it difficult for him to gain any traction.