WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Texas Governor Rick Perry, just months ago a serious contender to become the 2012 Republican U.S. presidential nominee, was set to drop out of the race on Thursday after a series of gaffes and controversies undercut his campaign.
Perry is abandoning his run for his party's nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama on November 6, campaign sources said, and will endorse Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Perry scheduled a news conference in North Charleston, South Carolina, for 11 a.m. EST (1400 GMT). Perry drops out just two days before Saturday's pivotal Republican presidential primary in the conservative Southern state where he had hoped to revive his campaign.
Perry entered the race in August and briefly was at the front of the pack of Republican candidates, but a series of gaffes, lackluster debate performances and controversial statements during the campaign undermined his standing in polls.
Perry's poll numbers remained low in South Carolina, with little prospect for improving before the primary or in the contests ahead.
Perry had contemplated getting out of the race after a distant fifth place showing in the January 3 Iowa caucuses - the first contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination - but quickly decided to stay in the race. His campaign, however, never got any more traction.
Perry had roared past former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and other rivals to take the lead in polls of the Republican candidates after entering the race.
POOR DEBATE PERFORMANCES
His conservative views and support from the grassroots Tea Party movement had positioned him as a top contender in the race for the Republican nomination.
But Perry foundered after several poor debate performances in which he was hammered by his rivals over his immigration policies and for ordering that young girls in Texas be vaccinated for a sexually transmitted virus.
He was ridiculed after a major debate stumble in November when he could not remember one of the three government agencies that he had repeatedly said he would eliminate if elected president. He also alienated some conservative voters with his stance on immigration.
This past Sunday Perry accused the Obama administration of over-reacting to a videotape that shows four Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
The latest controversy to hit Perry came this week when U.S. ally Turkey condemned as "unfounded and inappropriate" the Texas governor's comments that Turkey is ruled by Islamic terrorists and questioned whether it should remain in the NATO alliance.
Perry also said during a Republican debate in South Carolina on Monday that the United States should eliminate all aid to its long-time ally.
"Obviously when you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that sort of activity against their own citizens, then yes - not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong in NATO, but it's time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it," Perry said at the debate.
Perry had been known for controversial remarks even before running for president. In 2009 Perry pondered his state's secession from the United States. At a Tea Party event in Austin, supporters shouted "secede," and Perry said Texas might want to "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people."
Perry becomes the latest casualty in the marathon presidential campaign. Last August, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty withdrew after failing to make headway in the race.
Former pizza executive Herman Cain dropped out in December amid allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity. And U.S. congresswoman Michele Bachmann dropped out earlier this month after a weak showing in Iowa.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Karen Brooks and Patricia Zengerle, Editing by Vicki Allen)
baby lisa irwin baby lisa irwin pearl jam 20 martha marcy may marlene lacuna lacuna paranormal activity 3 trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.