Perry, Huntsman and Bachmann drop out of GOP race, Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will drop out of the Republican presidential primary on Monday and endorse his chief rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to sources in his campaign.
"It's true," said a Huntsman campaign source. "He doesn't want to stand in the way of the person who's best capable of beating Barack Obama, and that's Mitt Romney."
Huntsman will endorse Romney at 11 a.m. Monday morning in Myrtle Beach, S.C., according to a senior campaign adviser.
A Huntsman aide said Romney won't appear at Huntsman's endorsement, but the former Utah governor will tape a robocall for the former Massachusetts governor.
The senior campaign adviser said Huntsman's decision came after a "collective" discussion with advisers over the weekend and added the former governor struggled because it was a tough election cycle for a candidate like him.
Huntsman’s withdrawal comes as an obvious boost to Romney, who will benefit from the former governor’s support and will now have the centrist portion of the Republican spectrum to himself as he works to secure the GOP nomination.
With Huntsman out of the race, Romney is battling several rivals who are all trying to secure the support of conservatives: Rick Santorum, who finished a close second to Romney in the Iowa caucuses; former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.); and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), who is still in the race and is expected to win the support of his loyal followers as the contest moves from state to state.
Huntsman campaigned as a centrist Republican and promised to run a "civil' campaign, rising above partisan politics. That argument never caught fire with the Republican base, however, who want to see President Obama thrown out of office.
Many conservative voters still seem less than inspired by Romney's candidacy, but they so far have not coalesced around any other candidate. And with three Republicans still fighting to become the standard-bearer for conservatives, Romney will retain an advantage going forward.
Read More:http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/204247-report-huntsman-to-drop-out-of-gop-race
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