SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

Local News

February 7, 2008

Romney quits campaign for president

WASHINGTON — John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, suspended his faltering presidential campaign.

"I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. "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 Sen. 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."

Though Romney took Massachusetts in Tuesday's primary, McCain prevailed in most states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination.

Overall, McCain led with 707 delegates, to 294 for Romney and 195 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer's convention in St. Paul, Minn.

-- Associated Press

Click here to read Romney's speech.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

North Shore News Updates on Twitter
Stories Shared on Facebook
AP Video
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Comments Tracker