Fred Thompson will drop out of the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Fred Thompson plans to drop his presidential bid, FOX News learned Tuesday.
Thompson has begun calling friends, family members and supporters to tell them his campaign is over. He left Nashville Tuesday afternoon for McLean, Va., where he is expected to make an announcement about his campaign as early as Tuesday night.
The former Tennessee senator and actor has not won any early primary or caucus contests and finished third in the South Carolina primary Saturday.
More, from the AP:
“Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort,” Thompson said in a statement.
Thompson’s fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.
In the statement, Thompson did not say whether he would endorse any of his former rivals. He was one of a handful of members of Congress who supported Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2000 in his unsuccessful race against George W. Bush for the party nomination.
Let the VP speculation begin…
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2008 Election, Fred Thompson, GOP, Politics, President, Republicans