Michele Bachmann has ended her bid for
the White House after placing a distant sixth in Iowa, the AP
reported.
An adviser to the Bachmann campaign
told the news service that Bachmann had decided to call it quits.
Bachmann, the winner of the August Iowa
Straw Poll, earlier canceled her campaigning trip to South Carolina.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who finished
fifth in Iowa behind Newt Gingrich, prompted speculation that he was
also considering dropping out of the race when he told supporters he
was heading home to “determine whether there is a path forward”
for his bid.
Rick Santorum, who placed second in
Iowa trailing by only a handful of votes behind Mitt Romney, along
with Bachmann and Perry, signed The Family Leader's controversial
14-point anti-gay marriage pledge, which asks each presidential
candidate to “vigorously” oppose marriage equality, be faithful
to his or her own spouse, vow to protect women and children from
pornography and reject Sharia law because it is a “form of
totalitarian control.”
(Related: Rick
Santorum, Michele Bachmann say Obama is wrong on gay rights.)