Rick Perry Suspends Campaign

Rick Perry is telling his supporters that he's going to end his campaign for the Republican nomination, ABC News has confirmed.

Perry entered the GOP race as a breath of fresh air to many conservatives hoping for a suitable candidate to oppose Mitt Romney, but after a few bad debate performances, he sunk in the polls and his supporters began to give up.

In South Carolina, Perry was polling in last place, in single digits, before the primary on Saturday.

Perry is calling a press conference in North Charleston, S.C., at 11 a.m. where he will make the announcement and endorse Newt Gingrich.

Some of Mitt Romney's major fundraisers have been waiting for Perry to drop out so they can start raising money from the Texas governor's wealthy friends who have been bound by allegiance to support Perry. "Now we can start today," said Fred Zeidman, a Romney fundraiser, adding that the fundraising team in Texas was "anticipating that he was going to drop out."