WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican candidate Mitt Romney dropped out of the U.S. presidential race on Thursday, a decision that makes Sen. John McCain the all-but-certain nominee of his party.
Romney lost 14 of 21 states on Super Tuesday, the biggest day of U.S. presidential voting ahead of November's election, while Arizona Sen. McCain savoured coast-to-coast wins and cemented his position as front-runner.
"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose," Romney said.
Romney's decision will raise pressure on Huckabee to do the same.
Romney did not endorse McCain in his speech. The two have engaged in a bitter crossfire in recent weeks over who is the real conservative.
But he said he agreed with him "on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al Qaeda and terror."
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
