Rick Perry drops out of 2016 Republican presidential race

This should surprise absolutely no one…

After months of struggling to gain traction, former Texas governor Rick Perry on Friday said he is suspending his campaign, becoming the first Republican candidate to drop out of the crowded race for the White House.

“We have a tremendous field—the best in a generation—so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands,” Perry said, during an appearance before a conservative conference in St. Louis.

Perry, who has made his mark on the political landscape as the longest-serving governor in Texas history, in recent weeks wrestled with fundraising woes and an inability to break out of the bottom tier during his second presidential run.

I think we can expect to see at least one or two of the other bottom-dwelling Republican presidential candidates from the group of Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Bobby Jindal, and former Sen. Rick Santorum follow Rick Perry out of the Republican presidential race, with my money on Lindsey Graham as the next likeliest to drop out of the race.