Ron Paul's Speech After South Carolina Primary

MSNBC Projects Newt Gingrich Winner Of South Carolina Primary

Perry Dropping Out of Race

Presidential contender Rick Perry is planning to drop out of the GOP nomination race around mid-day Thursday, at an undisclosed location in North Charleston, sources tell us.

Rick Perry’s heavily funded campaign appeared to be destined for great things back in August when he was the unanimous frontrunner in many national and state polls, including Iowa. However, after several lackluster performances at key debates, Perry found himself at the back of an already packed crowd of presidential hopefuls.

This news comes as a shock for those close to Perry, who had assured his campaign staff, and supporters that he planned to stay in the race until at least after South Carolina, a state in which Perry had expected to draw large support from the evangelical, socially conservative voters. Nevertheless, Perry will be throwing in the towel and harnessing his electoral weight behind Newt Gingrich, who will likely see a sharp uptick in his South Carolina poll numbers in the final days before the primary.

This all coming on the heels of a potentially game-changing interview involving Newt Gingrich’s second ex-wife, Marianne, who appears poised to sabotage her former husband’s campaign by all means necessary.

Recent polls suggest Perry garners around four percent of the South Carolina vote: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/sc/south_carolina_republican_presidential_primary-1590.html