Rick Perry drops out of US primary

Perry announced his decision to suspend his campaign Friday after weeks of languishing near the bottom of the Republican presidential pack since he entered the race in June.

"I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, and as long as we listen to the grassroots, the cause of conservatism will be too," Perry said in a speech in St. Louis, Missouri.

Perry's latest campaign had been his second bid for the White House after a failed campaign in 2012 that was most remembered for an embarrassing moment when during a live a debate he could not remember which government department his campaign had pledged to eliminate.

His tenure as governor of Texas was not uncontroversial with the right-wing Republican clashing with political rivals and fending off a felony indictment for alleged abuse of power.

Of the 17 major Republican candidates, Perry was polling at 13th, with less than one percent support, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average Friday.

Campaign rivals quickly praised Perry as word spread of his campaign's demise.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, an early frontrunner in the race but now trailing billionaire Donald Trump, took to Twitter to commend his fellow Republican.

"He served in the United States Air Force and as governor of Texas with distinction, and I have no doubt that his service to our nation is not over," said fellow candidate Senator Marco Rubio in a statement. "I commend him for running an honorable, positive campaign."

Perry's presidential campaign had been running so low on cash for the past month that shortfalls caused problems paying many of his staffers.

Perry had been excluded from last month's first prime-time televised debate because he was not among the top 10 Republicans in opinion polls. On Thursday, CNN, the host of next week's second prime-time debate, announced that Perry had again failed to make the cut.

jar/bw (AFP, AP, Reuters)