Rick Perry formally exits presidential race, backs Gingrich Reporting from North Charleston, S.C. - Rick Perry abruptly quit the presidential race Thursday and threw his support to Newt Gingrich, a move aimed at slowing Mitt Romney's march to the Republican nomination. "I have come to the conclusion that there is not a viable path forward for me in 2012," said Perry, his expression taut as he read from a prepared statement. Acknowledging past differences with the former House speaker, Perry said Gingrich was nevertheless "a conservative visionary who can transform our country." The 2012 election, Perry said, is not just about defeating President Obama, but replacing him "with a conservative leader who will bring about real change." The Texas governor, surrounded by grim-faced family members, announced his decision at a news conference just over five months after he launched his candidacy a few miles away in historic Charleston. For all intents, Perry's hapless campaign peaked that day. Indeed, he may have a greater effect by leaving the GOP presidential contest than he did while running. By exiting two days before the South Carolina primary, Perry narrows the competition among those vying to be the alternative to the front-running Romney. Up to now, the former Massachusetts governor has benefited greatly from the splintering of that vote among several candidates. The candidate with the most to gain is Gingrich, who has been rising in South Carolina polls as he battles former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul for the anti-Romney mantle. Perry entered the contest buoyed by high expectations, and for a time was the leader in national opinion surveys. But a series of poor debate performances -- notably one in which he froze and failed to remember the third of three federal agencies he vowed to eliminate -- turned him into something of a national punch line. He almost quit the race after finishing fifth in Iowa's lead-off caucuses. A performance that was not altered by Thursday's announcement of a new vote count, which showed Santorum, and not Romney, narrowly winning. In theory, the first Southern primary offered Perry the best opportunity to capitalize on his Texas roots and right his listing campaign. However, the self-inflicted damage Perry suffered as a result of his stumbling debate performances coupled with his poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, where he came in well behind Romney and others, proved too much to overcome. Perry was also running far back, in fifth place, in South Carolina polls, and one advisor said he chose to quit now rather than suffer any further embarrassment on Saturday. Perry became the second campaign casualty of the week. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who was also struggling for traction in South Carolina after a third-place New Hampshire finish, quit the race on Monday and endorsed Romney. The final debate before the primary on Saturday, a two-hour session Thursday night at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center, will now proceed with four candidates on stage. For Perry, the dispiriting scene in an airport hotel ballroom marks an unprecedented finish. In his more than 30-year political career, he has never lost an election. He is the longest-serving governor in Texas history, and in a Los Angeles Times interview last month did not rule out seeking a fourth full term in 2014. The winner today is the state of Texas. They get the most conservative governor in the United States back," said Perry's South Carolina chairman, Katon Dawson, before the withdrawing candidate had entered the meeting room at the Hyatt Place in North Charleston. The loser may be the American conservative movement. Dawson said he felt that voters did not get to know Perry: "People just didn't get to know the charisma, his Christian faith -- the guy is real from head to toe." "Texas ought to be elated, have a ticker tape parade to welcome him back," Dawson said.