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http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/perry-to-end-bid-
11:45 a.m. | Updated NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas
dropped out of the Republican presidential race here on Thursday and
announced his endorsement for the candidacy of Newt Gingrich, a man he
called a “conservative visionary.”
In South Carolina
Reporting on the candidates and voters in the Palmetto State.
“I’ve never believed that the cause of conservatism is embodied by one
individual,” Mr. Perry said at a news conference here. “Our party and our
conservative philosophy transcends any one individual.”
Mr. Perry, who opened his bid for the Republican presidential nomination
five months ago here in South Carolina, conceded that “there is no viable
path forward for me.” He urged Republicans to support Mr. Gingrich, who he
conceded was not a perfect candidate, but was the best conservative
alternative in the race.
“Newt is not perfect, but who among us is,” Mr. Perry said. “The fact is,
there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of
redemption, for it is a central tenet of my Christian faith.”
Mr. Perry reached the decision on Wednesday night, his aides said, and
informed Mr. Gingrich of his plans to leave the race. He was planning to fly
home to Texas shortly after his announcement.
“I have no question that Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative
reformer,” Mr. Perry said, adding that the Republican Party cannot squander
its opportunity to put forward a “conservative leader who can bring about
real change.”
In a brief announcement here, as Mr. Perry was surrounded by his wife and
family, he did not acknowledge Mitt Romney by name. But his praise of Mr.
Gingrich, along with his repeated calls for Republicans to elect a true
conservative, seemed to be a direct shot at Mr. Romney.
It remains an open question what effect his endorsement of Mr. Gingrich will
have on the South Carolina primary on Saturday. But with only four
Republican candidates remaining in the race, conservatives are urging voters
to coalesce around one alternative to Mr. Romney.
Mr. Perry had no immediate plans to campaign alongside Mr. Gingrich over the
next two days, aides said. He did not take questions during his brief
appearance here in North Charleston and left the stage after kissing his
wife, Anita, and thanking his family.
Mr. Perry’s decision comes as Mr. Gingrich has picked up support in South
Carolina during the past week of campaigning. A CNN/Time survey released
Wednesday showed that Mr. Romney’s lead over Mr. Gingrich in South Carolina
has been cut in half over the past two weeks. Mr. Gingrich has urged his
other rivals to drop out so that conservative voters can coalesce around him
as the alternative to Mr. Romney.
Rick Santorum, who had 16 percent support in the CNN/Time survey, on
Wednesday dismissed that suggestion out of hand. Mr. Santorum is scheduled
to hold two events Thursday before participating in a debate sponsored by
CNN.
The decision by Mr. Perry, which was first reported by CNN, narrows the
Republican field to four candidates. A new NBC News/Marist poll of likely
Republican voters in South Carolina shows that among Mr. Perry’s supporters
, 34 percent said Mr. Gingrich was their second choice, 20 percent said Ron
Paul, 19 percent said Mr. Santorum, and 18 percent said Mr. Romney. But it
is important to remember, that only 4 percent of all South Carolina likely
voters said they were supporting Rick Perry to begin with.
In a statement, Mr. Romney praised Mr. Perry, who had recently called Mr.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, “a vulture capitalist.”
“Rick Perry ran a campaign based upon love of country and conservative
principles,” Mr. Romney said in a statement. “He has earned a place of
prominence as a leader in our party, and I salute him for his commitment to
making President Obama a one-term president and finally getting our nation’
s economy back on the right track. The nation owes Governor Perry a debt of
gratitude for his years of service to his state and country. I wish Anita
and him well.”
It was the second time that Mr. Perry had signaled that he would leave the
race. After a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses two weeks ago, Mr. Perry
said that he was returning to Texas to reassess his campaign, but he decided
to press ahead in South Carolina.
Mr. Perry was in the single digits in recent polls here, but his withdrawal
from the race could affect the outcome of the primary by giving conservative
voters one fewer alternative. He had been appealing heavily to South
Carolina’s evangelical voters.
In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Perry said that he would
leave the decision over whether he would remain in the race to the voters of
South Carolina. But in the end, a supporter said, he wanted to avoid a last
-place finish in South Carolina.
Mr. Perry had entered the race on Aug. 13 amid soaring expectations that his
longtime experience as a conservative Southern governor might sweep him to
the nomination.
Speaking to a group of conservatives in South Carolina even as
Representative Michele Bachmann was winning the Iowa straw poll, he declared
his bid for the presidency by vowing to bring jobs and a conservative
outlook back to the country.
“It’s time to get America working again,” he said at the time. “America
is not broken, Washington is broken”.
After announcing in South Carolina that he was running for president, Mr.
Perry jumped to the top of the polls, stepping on Mrs. Bachmann’s victory
and presenting himself as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney.
But after his successful entrance into the race, Mr. Perry quickly stumbled,
particularly during debates.
In early faceoffs, Mr. Perry struggled to defend his past statements about
Social Security, which he had called a “Ponzi scheme.” And he stumbled in
answers about his support in Texas for a program that benefits illegal
immigrants who want to attend the state’s colleges.
Mrs. Bachmann and his other rivals also challenged him on his decision to
require young girls to be vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted
disease.
But the worst moment in his campaign came in a later debate, when he
struggled to remember the names of three federal agencies that he would
eliminate if he were elected president. As he began to explain, he could
think of only two.
“Commerce, Education,” Mr. Perry said before pausing for an uncomfortable
moment as he looked from side to side, counting on his fingers and flipping
through his notes. As his rivals volunteered suggestions, a moderator asked
Mr. Perry if he could name the third agency.
“The third one, I can’t,” he finally said, a sad look on his face, after
53 seconds had gone by. “Sorry. Oops.”
Mr. Perry’s early lead and the high expectations helped him raise more than
$17 million in the first two months of the race. But his stumbles led to
steadily declining poll numbers nationally and in the early voting states.
His disappointing fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses initially led him
to announce that he was suspending his campaign and heading back to Texas to
“reassess” his prospects.
But Mr. Perry tweeted a picture of himself jogging the next morning,
announcing that he would skip New Hampshire’s primary and head directly to
South Carolina, where he hoped to do better with the state’s religious,
conservative voters.
But polls in the state showed Mr. Perry lagging far behind his rivals in the
race. A CNN/Time poll released on Wednesday showed him barely registering
with just 6 percent support. |
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