News Digest

Rick Perry bows to the inevitable and drops out of U.S. presidential race

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry ended his second bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Friday, becoming the first major candidate of the 2016 campaign to give up on the White House. Perry suspended his struggling campaign while strapped for campaign cash and stuck polling at near zero.

We have a tremendous field of candidates — probably the greatest group of men and women.

Rick Perry

Four years after his first bid for the White House ended after disappointing finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Perry this time couldn’t even make it to the second debate night of the 2016 race. Perry will perhaps be remembered best for his performance in the first debate four years ago, when he couldn’t remember the third federal agency he’d promised to close if elected and muttered, “Oops” — a moment that doomed his bid in 2012.

I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, as long as we listen to the grassroots, listen to that cause of conservatism. If we do that, then our party will be in good hands.

Rick Perry