This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7233537.stm
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Romney suspends White House bid | Romney suspends White House bid |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign for the Republican party nomination for the US presidency. | Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign for the Republican party nomination for the US presidency. |
| Mr Romney spent millions of dollars of his own money on the campaign, but fell well behind front-runner Senator John McCain after Super Tuesday's primaries. | Mr Romney spent millions of dollars of his own money on the campaign, but fell well behind front-runner Senator John McCain after Super Tuesday's primaries. |
| Correspondents say his exit has in effect cleared the way for Senator McCain as Republican candidate. | Correspondents say his exit has in effect cleared the way for Senator McCain as Republican candidate. |
| Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck-and-neck in the Democratic race. | Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck-and-neck in the Democratic race. |
| A spokesman for Senator McCain refused to comment on his rival's withdrawal. | A spokesman for Senator McCain refused to comment on his rival's withdrawal. |
| In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror Mitt Romney class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7233528.stm">Why Mitt Romney quit the race class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6362249.stm">Profile: Mitt Romney Mr Romney announced the suspension at the Conservative Political Action Conference. | |
| "If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be making it easier for Senator Clinton or [Barack] Obama to win," Mr Romney said at the conference. |
| He added that the Democratic candidates would be a disaster for the "war on terror" and the war in Iraq. | |
| "In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," he said. | |
Democrats
Republicans
| |
| A successful businessman, he had hoped to be the first US president from the Mormon religion. | |
| But he failed to translate leads in opinion polls into victories in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. | But he failed to translate leads in opinion polls into victories in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. |
| In recent weeks, conservatives in the party rallied behind him as a candidate who they hoped could stop Senator McCain. | In recent weeks, conservatives in the party rallied behind him as a candidate who they hoped could stop Senator McCain. |
| But the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says he faced resistance among some evangelical Christians because of his Mormon faith. | |
| He also had difficulty convincing his party that he held strong beliefs on some very important subjects, such as abortion rights, immigration and gun ownership. | |
| Analysts say Mr Romney has not officially dropped out of the race. Suspending the campaign allows him to lay claim to his delegates and use them as leverage to win concessions from the eventual nominee. | |
| Officially former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are still in the campaign, but they stand no realistic chance of victory. | |
| 'Unite the party' | 'Unite the party' |
| Mr McCain was expected to speak at the conference after Mr Romney, in a bid to win over those who hold doubts about his conservative credentials. | Mr McCain was expected to speak at the conference after Mr Romney, in a bid to win over those who hold doubts about his conservative credentials. |
| He skipped the annual conference last year, which angered many members of the group. | He skipped the annual conference last year, which angered many members of the group. |
| Speaking on Wednesday, he told reporters: "We will unite the party behind our conservative principles and move forward and win the general election in November." | Speaking on Wednesday, he told reporters: "We will unite the party behind our conservative principles and move forward and win the general election in November." |
| Mr McCain has come under persistent attack from conservative commentators, like talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who say he is too liberal to be the party's candidate. | Mr McCain has come under persistent attack from conservative commentators, like talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who say he is too liberal to be the party's candidate. |
| NEXT CONTESTS Saturday: Louisiana and Washington state (multi-party); Nebraska (Democratic); Kansas (Republican)Sunday: Maine (Democratic)Tuesday: Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC (multi-party) Party split benefits McCainWinners not victorsConservative angstQ: What's next? | |
| Addressing his critics, the Arizona senator said: "I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there are areas we can agree on for the good of the party and for the good of the country." | Addressing his critics, the Arizona senator said: "I do hope that at some point we would just calm down a little bit and see if there are areas we can agree on for the good of the party and for the good of the country." |
| Mr McCain enjoyed wins in the big states of California and New York, as well as Illinois, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, Delaware, and his home state of Arizona. | Mr McCain enjoyed wins in the big states of California and New York, as well as Illinois, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, Delaware, and his home state of Arizona. |
| Those results seriously wounded Mr Romney, who invested millions of dollars of his own money in his campaign. | Those results seriously wounded Mr Romney, who invested millions of dollars of his own money in his campaign. |
| Mr Huckabee, who was polling a distant third but is popular with evangelical Christians, took five states on Tuesday, backing up the widely held view that Mr McCain lacks support from conservatives in his own party. | Mr Huckabee, who was polling a distant third but is popular with evangelical Christians, took five states on Tuesday, backing up the widely held view that Mr McCain lacks support from conservatives in his own party. |
| Mr Huckabee will speak to the conservative conference on Saturday. | Mr Huckabee will speak to the conservative conference on Saturday. |
| Some key conservative figures have refused to vote for Mr McCain in the presidential election if he wins the nomination. | Some key conservative figures have refused to vote for Mr McCain in the presidential election if he wins the nomination. |