Newt Gingrich is expected to withdraw next week from the US Republican presidential contest, CNN said today, a day after Mitt Romney added to his commanding lead in the Republican race with primary wins in five states.
Mr Gingrich will keep his scheduled stops in North Carolina, planned for this week and exit the race next Tuesday, Fox News said. He also is expected to endorse Mr Romney, the television network said.
The former US House of Representatives speaker had campaigned heavily in Delaware, one of five states to hold presidential primaries yesterday, but lost by nearly 30 percentage points.
"I don't think we can lose by 30 points in Delaware and feel good about it," his adviser Bob Walker, a former US congressman, said.
Despite a string of losses since Mr Gingrich's upset victory in South Carolina's primary in January, he had vowed to stay in the race until his party's nominating convention in late August.
His withdrawal clears the way for Mr Romney to claim the unofficial mantle of the Republican nominee in November's election, putting an end to a bitter primary campaign.
Mr Gingrich, who rose to be the most powerful Republican in the United States during his leadership of the House in the 1990s, finished first in just two of the 36 states that have voted in the 2012 presidential contests.
Reuters