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.