Feb 7, 2008 9:54 pm US/Eastern
Mitt Romney Suspends Campaign
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Romney made his announcement at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is suspending his presidential campaign.
Romney is not quitting the race. By suspending his campaign, he is allowed to keep his delegates, if something happened to front-runner John McCain's campaign. Romney's announcement all but seals the Republican nomination for McCain.
According to CBS News, McCain has 699 delegates, Mike Huckabee has 162, and Romney is third with 157. 1,191 are needed to become the Republican Party's nominee.
"I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney told conservatives at an event Thursday afternoon.
(Watch the video
here.)
"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
(Read Jon Keller's blog
"Inside Mitt's Decision")
"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America."
"I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror," Romney said.
Romney acknowledged the obstacles to beating McCain.
"As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, less than Senator McCain's 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. Eleven states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he's doing quite a bit better with his number of delegates," Romney said in prepared remarks.
Romney's departure from the race came almost a year after his formal entrance, when the Michigan native declared his candidacy on Feb. 12, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, Mich.
Romney was home with his family in Belmont Thursday night. His spokesman, Erick Fehrnstrom spoke with WBZ.
"The governor's spirits are good, and he feels he made the right decision and that was to step aside and allow John McCain to come forward and unify the Republican Party so we can beat the Democrats in the fall," Fehrnstrom said.
Fehrnstrom added, "You haven't heard the last of Mitt Romney. He will continue to be a spokesperson for conservative causes."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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