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Perry Drops Out

Joyce Russell/IPR
Rick Perry at the Iowa State Fair last month.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has become the first among the Republican presidential candidates to drop out of the race.  NPR is reportingthat Perry is suspending his campaign.  

"We have a tremendous field – the best in a generation – so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, and as long as we listen to the grassroots, the cause of conservatism will be too," he told a gathering in St. Louis Friday.

Perry's campaign has struggled to gather significant support in the crowded GOP field.  Last month, he cut back his Iowa campaign staff to a single paid employee.  And a poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University found he had the support of only about one-percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers.

Michael Leland is IPR's News Director