Texas Governor Rick Perry has dropped out of the race for the Republican US presidential nomination.
Speaking at a news conference in South Carolina this afternoon he endorsed Newt Gingrich as the best candidate to face Barack Obama in the November presidential election.
"I've always believed the mission is greater than the man. As I have contemplated the future of this campaign, I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in this 2012 campaign," he said.
"Therefore today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States. I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country."
Speaking of Mr Gingrich, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mr Perry said: "We've had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. And Newt is not perfect. But who among us is?"
Speaking to reporters in Beaufort, South Carolina, Mr Gingrich said he had spoken with Mr Perry earlier in the day and called the Texas governor "a great patriot".
Mr Gingrich also said Mr Perry had agreed to work with other state governors and
legislators to develop a detailed conservative agenda for the future.
Mr Perry entered the race in August and briefly was at the front of the pack of Republican candidates, but a series of gaffes and controversial statements during the campaign undermined his standing in polls.
Mr Perry had contemplated getting out of the race after a distant fifth place showing in the January 3rd Iowa caucuses - the first contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination - but decided to stay in the race. His campaign, however, never got any more traction.
Mr Perry had roared past former Massachusetts Governor Romney and other rivals in August to take the lead in polls of the Republican candidates after entering the race but support for the Texan Governor faded in recent months.
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 Mr 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 Mr Perry accused the Obama administration of overreacting to a videotape that shows four Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
The latest controversy to hit him came this week when Turkey condemned as "unfounded and inappropriate" the Texas governor's comments that the country is ruled by Islamic terrorists and questioned whether it should remain in Nato.
Mr Perry also said during a Republican debate that the United States should eliminate all aid to its longtime ally.
His decision to quit comes ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday.
Former governor of Utah and former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman dropped out of the presidential race earlier this week. Mr Huntsman endorsed the frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Mr Perry's departure narrows the field to four: Mr Romney, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, former senator Rick Santorum and Texas congressman Ron Paul.
Other candidates to have quit the presidential race include former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty who dropped out in August, followed by pizza mogul Herman Cain in December and Michele Bachmann who quit after the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.