Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - Rick Perry's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are now actively seeking his support, a source close to the Texas governor tells CNN.
In the past hour, the campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have reached out to Perry asking for his backing in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
Tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. ET for the CNN/Southern Republican Presidential Debate hosted by John King and follow it on Twitter at #CNNDebate. For real-time coverage of the South Carolina primary, go to CNNPolitics.com or to the CNN apps or CNN mobile web site.
Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @politicalticker
The source described it as an "aggressive effort" to secure Perry's endorsement hours before the nationally televised debate on CNN and two days before the South Carolina primary.
Speculation is that Perry will back Gingrich, but the source noted that it was not yet set in stone. Perry will formally withdraw from the race at 11 am ET.
Also see:
FIRST ON CNN: Perry dropping out of GOP race
Polls: South Carolina primary tightening hours before crucial debate
Gingrich as compares Romney's 'desperate' attacks to 2008 campaign
if Santorum pulls this off, it will be the biggest Ocean's Eleven in history. He is Not what he seems to be.
question: which canidate would take us into WW III ? Gingrich or Santorum ? Both seem to hate the people in the middle east sooo much, they would do an unconditional preemptive strike on Iran. And you know there WILL be other countries to jump in ... thus WW III.
Perry made his decision to drop out of the race before the South Carolina primary when he realized he had spent the week campaigning in North Carolina.
I think I would be saying, "Please, please, back someone else, Rick!"
Why does CNN NEVER include Ron Paul with the news stories? I thought he was second place in the last state?
golly gee, i would love to see a gingrich/palin ticket. this will show what a fool he is
A Perry endorsement is almost as bad as a Palin endorsement.
ehm...clowns asking another clown to support them? am i surprised? no, but where's the credibility?!
The Christian coalition ought to have endorsed Gingrich as well. Really doesn't matter from a "vote on Christian principles" perspective to begin with. None of the GOPer candidates are what I'd personally consider true followers of Christ. Unless of course lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, bearing false witness, finger pointing, and coveting one anothers assets (and each others voters) are now Christian virtues to be upheld, not scorned.
there were three things I liked about Perry – he made me laugh whenever he opened his mouth, his lack of knowledge about the world outside Texas was charming and... I... uh... can't remember the third one.
We are getting a new scoop each hour, Rick Perry out, Satorum won Iowa, now the Newert as a swinger with Calistas permission and not the wife, that will air tonight on ABC. What will the christain values folks think or say? This is very revealing. This really works well with the religious consertative base.
If I were Perry, I would support Santorum. If it were a Republican, I would support Gingrich. If it were me, I would put the whole lot of them onto bus and send them on their merry way.
Governor Perry, well will miss you greatly !! You STILL have the BEST RECORD. Endorsing Gingrich is the best non-Romney choice. May God continue to bless you and your family !!
ENOUGH ALREADY!! How many more times is CNN going to send out breaking news emails of Perry's withdrawal WE GET IT!!!!!! And who cares!!!!!!!!
@ Lynda...
But isn't the left's incessant attack on whom they see as "wealhy" just a flavor of coveting someone else's assets?
He should have dropped out WEEKS ago. I guess that he felt like he had to stick around a little longer to do more damage to himself, the GOP and other candidates. Glad to see him go.
Fair is Fair wrote:
But isn't the left's incessant attack on whom they see as "wealhy" just a flavor of coveting someone else's assets?
--------
The only people attacking the wealthy are Romney and his supporters. The left has been silent, watching the tennis bounce back and forth. Gingrich attacked the veracity of Romney's claim that he created 100,000 jobs while he was at Bain. Romney acts as if Gingrich is attacking all of capitalism, and still has not backed up his 100,000 claim.
Rudy, AMAZINGLY, says:
"The only people attacking the wealthy are Romney and his supporters."
---------
You lose ALL creibility with that statement Rudy. ALL credibility.
and still has not backed up his 100,000 claim.
=================================
Obama has claimed to have created or saved MILLIONS and provided no proof. When can we expect to see that Rudy?
Fair is Fair
@ Lynda...
But isn't the left's incessant attack on whom they see as "wealhy" just a flavor of coveting someone else's assets?
----------------
Good for you for biting off the apple (so to speak), Fair! But, to answer your question, yes, it could be considered coveting ... if the intent is wanting what Mitt has financially on a purely selfish and personal level ... for myself, I could care less how much wealth Romney has accrued over the years. I do question the motivation behind how he acquired it, though.
Fair is Fair wrote:
"The only people attacking the wealthy are Romney and his supporters."
You lose ALL creibility with that statement Rudy. ALL credibility.
--------
But, it is true. Gingrich's attack is personal. LIke most of us, we believe Romney is lying when he claims to have created 100,000 while he was at Bain. It is Romney who is trying to turn the discussion into an attack on capitalism. Not only are Romney's numbers inflated, he's probably counting jobs created AFTER he left the company.
Truth somebody wrote:
Obama has claimed to have created or saved MILLIONS and provided no proof. When can we expect to see that Rudy?
---------–
We were losing 700,000 per month when he took office. He put an end to that trend very quickly when he acquiesced to public outcry, "You helped Wall St, no what about Main St?"