January 19, 2012 06:16 PM UTC

Buh-Bye, Rick Perry

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• by: Colorado Pols

Los Angeles Times:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who parachuted into the 2012 Republican presidential contest on a surge of upbeat expectations, is expected to exit the contest Thursday, two days before a South Carolina primary in which he was trailing far behind the leaders.

Perry will hold a press conference in North Charleston at 11 a.m., when he’ll suspend his candidacy, according to multiple news accounts.

Perry almost quit the race after a weak fifth-place finish in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses.  But urged on by his wife and supporters, he decided to press ahead, skipping the New Hampshire primary and putting all of his emphasis on South Carolina…

Which, according to polling out today, netted Texas Gov. Rick Perry a whopping 4%. We would say, and we think most would agree at this point, that Perry stayed in this race for far too long after it became clear he was not presidential material. His continued presence in the race held back support from other “Romney alternatives,” and did nothing to salvage his damaged reputation after a string of disastrous missteps hobbled his candidacy at the outset.

Perry will reportedly endorse Newt Gingrich today. While Perry’s 4% support cannot be exactly considered a huge score for Gingrich, in a race as close as this, that margin could matter.