Updated at 10:53 p.m. ET: Tea Party-backed Ted Cruz won the primary runoff contest for the Texas Senate seat Tuesday night with over half of the vote, beating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was the winner of a plurality of the vote in the initial primary election in June. Dewhurst conceded Tuesday night.

Cruz will face Rep. Paul Sadler in the general election, which will determine the successor to retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R). Sadler beat former educator Grady Yarbrough in Tuesday's primary with two-thirds of the vote.

But given the Republican dominance in Texas, the seat is seen as likely to remain in GOP control, which made Tuesday’s runoff a somewhat de facto general election.

Live stream video test

The Dewhurst-Cruz battle marked another chapter in the battle between the establishment and insurgent wings of the Republican Party, splitting Republicans along familiar dividing lines.

Dewhurst had been able to outraise his primary opponents in part thanks to his long time in government and his support from Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), whose highly-regarded staff had managed his campaign.

But after Dewhurst failed to win an outright majority in the June 2 primary – which would have secured for him the nomination – conservatives who had opposed the lieutenant governor rallied around Cruz as the conservative alternative in the primary runoff.

Familiar Republican figures who had propelled other upstart conservatives in primaries had rallied around Cruz. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint endorsed the former solicitor general, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum each stumped for Cruz last weekend in Texas.

Cruz, a Cuban-American who had served as a onetime clerk to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had been the favorite going into the primary on Tuesday. But Dewhurst supporters held out hope that early voting might carry the day for his campaign.

Texas seems likely to have a more conservative senator in Washington come next January. The outgoing Hutchison is regarded as a generally Republican, but had drawn conservatives’ ire for supporting abortion rights and the 2008 Wall Street bailout program.

April 27, 2011 – Obama releases long-form birth certificate

The White House released President Barack Obama’s so-called “long form” birth certificate last April, primarily in response to provocations by Donald Trump, the real estate magnate and reality TV host who had flirted with a bid for the Republican nomination. Trump actually spent a brief period of time atop the polls versus the rest of the fledgling GOP field. Obama decried “carnival barkers” in remarks upon the release of his birth certificate, and Trump faded in the polls before deciding to run for president.

May 15, 2011 – Gingrich calls Ryan plan ‘right-wing social engineering’

Having just launched his campaign for president, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared on “Meet the Press,” where he faced a question about Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s new budget. The plan had been under attack by Democrats who asserted Republicans would end Medicare as it’s currently known by most Americans. 

“I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering,” Gingrich said of the plan. It prompted immediate backlash from conservatives who supported the plan. Ryan himself quipped: "With allies like that, who needs the left?" – a line rival campaigns would use later against the former speaker.

May 31, 2011 – Palin and Trump grab a slice

At this point in the 2012 cycle, whether Sarah Palin would be throwing her hat in the ring for the GOP nomination was a persistant, lingering question.

Her bus tour through the Northeast, which stopped in New Hampshire the same day Mitt Romney formally launched his candidacy in the state, only stoked speculation that Palin would make a run for the White House.

But the most press-frenzied moment of her trip came on May 31, when Palin’s tour bus rolled into Manhattan. She met Donald Trump, who had announced that he would not be a candidate for president, for a slice at a New York pizzeria while a throng of media observed from the outside.

June 9, 2011 – Gingrich suffers mass resignations

Jason Minick / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaks during the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Pa., Saturday March 24, 2012.

With his campaign reeling from the scrape with Paul Ryan, revelations that Gingrich had enjoyed a six-figure line of credit with the jeweler Tiffany & Co., and an ill-timed vacation to Greece, a throng of the former speaker’s top aides resigned all at once. The resignations prompted speculation in the media about when – not if – Gingrich would be forced to end his campaign.

June 13, 2011 – Pawlenty passes on ‘Obamneycare’

Tim Pawlenty had hoped to emerge as a major challenger to Mitt Romney this cycle, and a day before Republicans gathered for one of their earliest debates, the former Minnesota governor trotted out a new attack line against Romney.

Pawlenty coined the term “Obamneycare” during an appearance on FOX News Sunday, a term meant to fuse the president’s health reform law, an unpopular plan with conservatives, and the similar law Romney had implemented while governor of Massachusetts.

But just 24 hours later, Pawlenty declined to repeat that same attack while sharing the stage with Romney, and suffered a blow to his campaign. He would eventually drop out of the race after the Ames Straw Poll in August.

Pawlenty went on to endorse Romney, though ironically, other Republican candidates have used the “Obamneycare” slur against Romney.

Aug. 11, 2011 – ‘Corporations are people, my friend’

Mitt Romney was widely expected to run for president again, but took a deliberately slow pace in getting his campaign up to full speed.

Romney didn’t participate in the Ames Straw Poll, but he joined most of the other Republican candidates in the time-honored tradition of going to the Iowa State Fair. That included a soapbox speech for Romney, where he was met by a liberal heckler who pressed Romney on favorable treatment of corporations.

“Corporations are people, my friend,” Romney blurted in response. The comment went viral immediately on Twitter, and Democrats quickly pounced to paint Romney as an ally of big business.

Aug. 15, 2011 – Perry says printing more money is ‘almost treasonous’

After an incredibly hyped launch to his candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry marched into Iowa with a schedule full of campaigning.

To conclude his first full day on the trail, though, Perry seemed to suggest that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be acting treasonously if he were to authorize a more expansive monetary policy before the election. Moreover, Perry hinted that Bernanke would be treated poorly at the very least if he were in Texas.

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election,” Perry said at a gathering in Cedar Rapids, “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we — we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous — or treasonous in my opinion."

August 2011 – ‘9-9-9’

Herman Cain debuted his catchphrase-based tax plan in August, and it would serve as a cornerstone of the former pizza magnate’s surge in the polls later in the fall. 

The plan called for a radical restructuring of the tax code, replacing much of it with a nine percent tax each on individual income, corporate income and sales.

The plan, and the number nine, would develop into Cain’s boilerplate response to most questions about his economic policy. Serious scrutiny of the plan suggested that it would blow a serious hole in the deficit, and Cain’s rivals attacked the introduction of a sales tax as a slippery slope that threatened abuse by the government. 

Sept. 7, 2011 – Audience cheers Texas executions

At an NBC News debate in September – Rick Perry’s first – moderator Brian Williams posed a question to the Texas governor about the record number of prisoners executed during his time in office.

When Williams noted the 234 executions, members of the audience broke out into applause regarding the question, which was intended to ask Perry whether he had any doubt about whether any of those prisoners might have been innocent. 

"But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed,” Perry said, earning more applause from the audience. 

When pressed by Williams on the crowd reaction, Perry added: "I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of cases, supportive of capital punishment."

The strong reaction from the crowd set the tone for a number of debates during the primary season, where reactions from the audience - in part - framed perception of the candidates on TV.

Sept. 13, 2011 – Bachmann says HPV vaccine causes 'retardation'

The morning following a presidential debate, Bachmann appeared on the TODAY show and suggested that the vaccine for the Human Papilloma Virus might be linked to intellectual disabilities.

Her poll numbers tarnished by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had mandated the vaccine for young women during his time in office, Bachmann attacked Perry for forcing the vaccine on young women.

But on the TODAY show, Bachmann went a step further. “I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Fla., after the debate,” she said. “She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter ... This is a very real concern and people have to draw their own conclusions.”

Sept. 23, 2011 – Debate audience boos gay soldier

A Republican debate in mid-September featured some questions submitted to the candidates by YouTube users.

One such question came from a member of the U.S. military who was gay, just days after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy had ended.

“In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was, because I’m a gay soldier, and I didn’t want to lose my job,” said Stephen Hill, whose image was projected on a large TV screen in the debate hall. “My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”

The question was met with some loud boos from members of the audience, which came on the heels of their controversial reaction to the execution of prisoners in Texas just a couple of weeks earlier.

Oct. 8, 2011 – ‘Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan’

Herman Cain began to surge in the polls in early October, and started to receive more serious questioning about his views, especially foreign policy.

Cain had emphasized his 9-9-9 tax plan as the primary element of his candidacy, and admittedly said that he would leave foreign policy to advisers.

“I’m ready for the ‘gotcha’ questions and they’re already starting to come. And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I’m going to say, 'You know, I don’t know. Do you know?' And then I’m going to say, 'how’s that going to create one job?'” he told the Christian Broadcast Network.

The interview led to even more pointed questioning of Cain’s foreign policy views and a more aggressive vetting of the former pizza executive’s record in the press. 

Oct. 18, 2011 – ‘I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake!’

At the height of his battle against a surging Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney called into question Perry’s toughness on illegal immigrants given the law Perry had signed granting in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants who attended colleges and universities in Texas.

Perry turned the line of attack against Romney, saying the former Massachusetts governor had hired a lawn care company for his home that had employed illegal immigrants. Romney offered an explanation, albeit an inartful one that made him seem like a political opportunist.

"So we went to the company, and we said, 'Look, you can't have any illegals working on our property,” Romney said. “I'm running for office, for Pete's sake! I can't have illegals!'”

Nov. 7, 2011 – Sharon Bialek accuses Herman Cain of harassment

After climbing his way to the top of the polls of Republican presidential contenders, various media outlets reported that Cain, during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association, had been forced to settle at least two claims of sexual harassment against him.

The accusers remained anonymous, and Cain vehemently denied having ever acted inappropriately (and still does today).

Nonetheless, it was the eventual emergence of Sharon Bialek, with the assistance of celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who put a public face to the accusations against Cain. Bialek offered graphic descriptions of her allegations, which added fuel to the fire that had engulfed the Cain campaign. The former Godfathers Pizza CEO would suspend his campaign just a few weeks later.

Nov. 9, 2011 – ‘Oops.’

Maybe no single word is more associated with Rick Perry’s bid for the presidential nomination than “oops.”

The Texas governor had received a great deal of scrutiny for his poor performances in debates, where he minced words and appeared fatigued at points. His stumbling answer to a question regarding his plan to eliminate three government agencies crystalized that narrative and virtually crippled his candidacy.

“Commerce, Education and the  — what’s the third one there? Let’s see,” Perry said, pausing.

"The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one, I can't. Oops."

Nov. 9, 2011 – Gingrich says he served Freddie Mac as a ‘historian’

After Newt Gingrich had begun to surge again in the polls, Mitt Romney’s campaign countered by digging up the former speaker’s work for troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

At a debate in Michigan, Gingrich explained his paid contract with Freddie Mac by denying having ever lobbied for the company. Instead, the ex-speaker asserted, he had consulted with the company in his capacity as a historian.

“I have never done any lobbying, every contract that was written during the period when I was out of the office specifically said I would do no lobbying, and I offered advice. And my advice as a historian, when they walked in and said to me, we are now making loans to people who have no credit history and have no record of paying back anything, but that's what the government wants us to do, is I said  — I said to them at the time: This is a bubble. This is insane. This is impossible,” he said.” 

Nov. 14, 2011 – Cain: ‘I got all this stuff twirling around in my head’

Besieged by accusations of sexual harassment, Herman Cain hardly made matters better for his campaign during a sit-down interview with the editors of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

When asked about his position on President Obama’s management of the uprising in Libya last year, Cain appeared taken off-guard by the question and not immediately familiar with the president’s policy. His answer was captured on video.

"I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason — nope, that's a different one. [pause] I gotta go back and see," he said. "I got all this stuff twirling around in my head. Specifically, what are you asking me that I agree or not disagree with Obama?" 

Dec. 10, 2011 – The $10,000 bet

Another spat between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry at a Republican debate in December led to a cringe-worthy moment.

The Texas governor asserted that Romney had removed a passage expressing support for health care mandates in the paperback edition of his book. Romney insisted that was not the case, and was so confident in his stance that he offered Perry a wager.

"Rick, I'll tell you what — $10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet," Romney said, extending his hand to shake Perry’s. (The Texan declined.)

The moment provided fodder for Romney’s foes, Republican and Democratic, to underscore his wealth — painting him as the type of person who could casually bet ten large.

Jan. 19, 2012 – Gingrich angrily rebuffs ‘open marriage’ question

Newt Gingrich was sure to face a question at this pivotal debate before the South Carolina about the allegations leveled by one of his ex-wives that Gingrich, while he was speaker of the House, had requested an “open marriage,” or otherwise wanted a divorce.

The allegations cut directly to the questions of character that rivals of Gingrich sought to stoke.

But when CNN anchor John King asked the question to open the South Carolina debate, the ex-speaker showed a flash of anger in response.

"The destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that," he said, earning raucous applause.

The response was so effective that none of Gingrich’s rivals piled on, all declining to comment on the allegations against Gingrich.

Jan. 25, 2012 – Gingrich pledges lunar colony by 2020

Fresh off his upstart victory in the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich sought to challenge Mitt Romney one-on-one in the succeeding primary in Florida.

The former House speaker campaigned through the state, including a stop in its hard-hit Space Coast – where he causally suggested one of his most “grandiose” ideas of the campaign.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon. And it will be American," Gingrich told a crowd, prompting guffaws from the media and rival campaigns. Romney would eventually win Florida by a healthy margin. 

Feb. 1, 2012 – ‘I’m not concerned about the very poor’

Continuing an alarming string of gaffes after major primary wins, Mitt Romney gave an interview the day after winning the Florida primary in which he seemed to shrug off helping the poor.

"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it," Romney said on CNN. "I'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."

While the comment was meant to emphasize the focus of the Romney campaign on the middle class, the remark had major reverberations and forced an explanation from the campaign. Romney would have to continue to toil for weeks before gaining a stronger grip on the nomination.

Feb. 24, 2012 – Romney’s Ford Field speech

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Members of the Detroit Economic club gather to hear a speech by Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during a luncheon at Ford Field on February 24, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan.

Mitt Romney returned to Michigan, the state where he was born and raised, to deliver what had been billed as a major economic address at Ford Field, the downtown home of the Detroit Lions.

But when the press arrived to the stadium, it was mostly empty except for some risers and about 1,000 seats for the members of the Detroit Economic Club in attendance. Romney’s speech and their applause echoed throughout the cavernous sports complex, making for poor optics for the speech.

The event was originally intended to be held in a hotel ballroom. But when tickets sold out in less than an hour, a larger venue was needed. Unfortunately, the one selected couldn't possibly be filled.

Making matters worse, in a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Romney pivoted to talk about his love for cars, and the American cars he and his wife owned.

“I drive a Mustang and Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually," he said, again inviting critics to highlight his personal wealth. 

Feb. 26, 2012 – Santorum says JFK speech made him sick

Amid a very tough battle against Mitt Romney in Michigan, Rick Santorum faced fresh questioning about whether he stood by remarks he made the preceding year, when he said he “almost threw up” after reading John F. Kennedy’s speech on the separation of church and state.

"Well, yes, absolutely,” Santorum said on ABC when asked whether the speech really made him ill. “To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up.”

The comment came at a point when social issues had reached the forefront of the campaign, driven by a nationwide debate over coverage for contraceptives, and whether religious institutions’ insurers should be exempted from a requirement to cover birth control.

March 21, 2012 – Etch A Sketch

The day after winning the Illinois primary by a commanding margin, a top aide to Mitt Romney appeared on CNN and likened the candidate’s pivot to the general election to erasing an Etch A Sketch.

“Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes,” adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said. “It's almost like an Etch a Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

Democrats and Romney’s Republican rivals quickly pounced on the gaffe. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich each showed up to campaign events throughout the day with the children’s toy in tow, and reference to the moment was incorporated into one of Vice President Biden’s later campaign speeches.

Romney had to react quickly to control the damage, hastily arranging a one-question press conference to mitigate the fallout.

"I'm running as a conservative Republican," he told reporters in Maryland. "I'll be running as a conservative Republican nominee."

Mar. 25, 2012 – Santorum calls reporter’s question ‘bulls***’

The odds growing that he would become the Republican nominee, Rick Santorum suggested at a campaign stop in late March that giving President Obama a second term would be better than electing Mitt Romney.

When asked by a New York Times reporter about the remark, Santorum reacted angrily.

"Quit distorting my words," Santorum said in Wisconsin. "If I see it, it's bulls---."

The rival Romney campaign played up the comment to portray Santorum’s campaign as having come off the rails.

The Justice Department on Monday blocked enforcement of the voter identification law which Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed last spring, contending that it would have a discriminatory impact on Latino voters.

In a letter to Texas Director of Elections Keith Ingram, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said that “according to the state’s own data, a Hispanic registered voter is at least 46.5 percent, and potentially 120.0 percent, more likely than a non-Hispanic registered voter” to lack either a driver’s license or a state-issued identification card, which would be required to vote.

Ralph Barrera / AP

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is interviewed in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012.

Under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Texas is one of nine states that is required to get pre-approval from the Justice Department or from a federal judge prior to implementing any change in voting procures.

In his letter Monday, Perez also argued that under the Texas law, in order to get a state-issued voter identification card, a voter would need to provide two pieces of secondary identification, or one piece of secondary identification and two supporting documents. “If a voter does not possess any of these documents, the least expensive option will be to spend $22 on a copy of the voter’s birth certificate,” he said. This, Perez said, would impose a burden on Hispanic voters because many have incomes below the federal poverty line.

The Justice Department decision on Monday was expected since it had blocked a similar law in South Carolina, another state also covered by section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

It is not the end of the battle over voter ID in the Lone Star State. 

In January, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked a federal court in Washington to allow Texas to use its photo ID law. That court has yet to issue a ruling.

Abbott argued that even if the Justice Department contends that the Texas law has the effect of limiting the voting rights of those who do not possess a government-issued photo identification, “it does not do so on account of their race or color -- it does so on account of their decision not to obtain the identification that the State offers free of charge.”

Abbott also argued that other states, such as Indiana, Kansas, and Wisconsin, “have been able to enact and enforce similar laws without interference” from the Justice Department. “Yet Texas is denied that ability to implement election-fraud prevention laws. This creates a two-tracked system of sovereignty,” in which some states can enforce their photo-identification requirements, but Texas cannot, “even though all of these state laws comply with the Constitution.”

When it comes to donating to charity and church, Mitt Romney is the man to beat.  

The release this week of the GOP candidate's tax records cast a spotlight on his considerable wealth, but it also revealed the extent of his generosity.

The records show Romney and his wife, Ann, contributed $7 million in charity over the tax years 2010 and 2011, much of it going to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romney earned $42.5 million during that period, which means he gave away roughly 16.5 percent of his income. He also paid out $6.2 million in taxes.

On both a percentage and an actual basis, Romney gave away more money than his chief rival for the GOP nomination, Newt Gingrich. He also donated more than President Obama, although the Democrat was not too far behind.

The average person donates 2 to 3 percent of his or her income to charity, experts say. For those who earn $10 million or more, the rate is 6.5 percent, said Joseph J. Thorndike, director of the Tax History Project at Tax Analysts.

"He's pretty generous, and no one can fault Romney for his level of giving," Thorndike told msnbc.com.

"It's remarkable," added Russell James, director of graduate studies in charitable planning at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. “I have never seen giving at the level Romney is giving at."

A look at others:

• Obama and his wife, Michelle, donated $245,000, or 14.4 percent, of their $1.7 million total income to 36 different charities, according to IRS documents. The Fisher House Foundation, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America were among the listed charities. It was the president's highest rate of giving, experts say, adding that Obama's giving has been keeping pace with the increase in earnings from best-selling books. In 2005, Obama's donations jumped to $77,315, 4.7 percent the family's income, and $60,307 (6.1 percent) in 2006. From 2000 through 2004, however, the then-Illinois senator and his wife had donated about 1 percent of their annual earnings, according to The New York Times and TaxProf Blog.

• GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, reported giving $81,133 (2.6 percent) of their $3.1 million income to charity in 2010. The Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington was a big recipient, at $9,540, according to tax records.

• Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, donated $5,350 (1.3 percent) of their $379,178 adjusted gross income to charity in 2010.

“Ever since Nixon, presidents and their taxes have been in the spotlight,” Thorndike told msnbc.com. “I’m sure he didn’t know he was going to start the tradition of releasing records, returns that were going to be pored over and read. Since then, there’s also been a strong incentive to not look cheap.”

For the record, former President Richard Nixon reported donating $295 to charity and church in 1972, according to the tax project. That's one-tenth of one percent of his annual adjusted income of $268,777 for that year.

Click below to view tax records of the various candidates (pdf):

• President Barack Obama
• Vice President Joe Biden
• GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 2010 tax return is on his web site, as is his estimated return for 2011
• GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's 2010 tax return
• Notable presidential tax returns on Tax History Project

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

• 3 years after US accident, boat washes up in Spain
• American hostage in Somalia rescued by Navy SEALs
• Report: Man spends 2 years in solitary after DWI arrest
• Wrongfully convicted man awarded $25 million

David Goldman / AP

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry pauses while announcing he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, in North Charleston, S.C.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET 

Texas Governor Rick Perry announced Thursday morning that he is dropping out of the presidential race and is endorsing Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination.

"There is no viable path forward for me," he told supporters on Thursday. "I gave fully of myself for a cause worthy of this country," he added. Perry said it was time for him to make a "strategic retreat."

Spokesman Ray Sullivan told reporters after the announcement that money was a factor; that the campaign had gone through "the bulk of our friends." He added that Perry is not yet ruling out running for re-election as governor or making another play for the White House in four years.

Of Gingrich, Perry said Thursday, "Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?" Perry continued, "There is forgiveness for those who seek God." He applauded Gingrich as "a conservative visionary who can transform our country." 

The former House speaker watched Perry's speech from his campaign bus, parked outside of Beaufort, S.C. He said he was "honored and humbled" by the endorsement. He called Perry a "great patriot."

Gingrich's candidacy has been boosted by strong debate performances, with another debate scheduled for Thursday. But he's likely to receive more unflattering attention when ABC News airs an interview with his second wife, Marianne Gingrich. In the interview, Marianne Gingrich says Gingrich asked her for an "open marriage" in which he could have both a wife and a mistress, and she refused.

Story: Gingrich ex-wife says he sought 'open' relationship

Perry's withdrawal and endorsement of Gingrich is a further sign that he's emerging as the main rival to Romney, who has failed to persuade many Republicans of his conservative credentials.

Perry had faced calls to drop out of the race to compel conservative voters, whose support has been divided among several conservative candidates, to rally behind Gingrich in hopes of stopping Romney. Recent polls show Gingrich gaining steam heading into the South Carolina primary, but he still trails Romney by about 10 percentage points.

Saturday's contest has been seen as the pivotal battle in the race, following what had initially been declared a narrow victory for Romney in Iowa, the first nominating contest, and a solid Romney win in last week's New Hampshire primary. Since 1980, no Republican has won the presidential nomination without a victory in the state.

But Republican officials said Thursday that Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, edged the former Massachusetts governor in Iowa by 34 votes, though no winner was declared because some votes remain missing.

Story: Santorum declares victory after revised Iowa caucus total

Perry entered the race last August to great fanfare and high poll numbers. But his standing quickly fell after a series of campaign blunders. During a nationally televised debate in early November, he could not remember the name of the third Cabinet department he had pledged to eliminate. "Oops," he told the audience. He later admitted of the gaffe, "I stepped in it."

Perry finished fifth in both Iowa and New Hampshire and, at one at one point said he was going to go back to Texas to reassess his path forward, but then headed to South Carolina instead.

Recommended: Rick Perry slideshow

Perry made his announcement to withdraw from the race just hours before Thursday night's GOP debate. He was joined on stage by his wife Anita and son, Griffin, and stressed that the Republican Party "transcends any one individual."

He said that "the campaign has never been about the candidates," and lamented, "a calling never guarantees a particular outcome."

David Goldman / AP

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry waits to be introduced at a campaign stop at the Hilton Head Diner, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Hilton Head, S.C.

David Goldman / AP

Mary Amonitti of Hilton Head, S.C., asks a question to Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry during a campaign stop at the Hilton Head Diner, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Hilton Head, S.C.

After Perry lost an important South Carolina backer, he's changed the focus of his attacks to Obama rather than Mitt Romney on the campaign trail today at a diner in Hilton Head. NBC's Mark Murray breaks down where all the campaign money is being spent in the Palmetto state.

The South Carolina Republican primary is Jan. 21.  It will take 1,144 delegates to win the nomination at the Republican national convention this summer. So far, Perry has collected no delegates.

Slideshow: A look at Gov. Rick Perry's political career

Mark Lambie / El Paso Times via AP

The nation's longest-serving current governor and his presidential run.

Launch slideshow

BLYTHEWOOD, SC -- The vulture flies no more.

Gov. Rick Perry's address to about 40 diners at famed Southern cookin' joint Lizards Thicket Thursday offered a healthy helping of anti-Obama rhetoric with a side of swipes at the "insiders" who are running for the presidency.

But his least appetizing metaphor for Mitt Romney -- one in which he graphically compared Romney's former company Bain Capital to a vulture picking at the carcasses of damaged companies -- had vanished from his speech.

The Texas governor first unveiled the "vulture capitalism" term on Tuesday, echoing a similar line of attack to Newt Gingrich has used against the former Massachusetts governor.

Perry used the term three times in one speech yesterday but then appeared to abruptly drop it during later campaign stops.

The wave of Bain attacks has subsided as conservative commentators ripped Perry for being "anti-free-market" and providing fodder for Democratic critics of Romney, should the presumed frontrunner become the GOP's nominee.

In Blythewood, he began a sentence that sounded like a possible wind-up to a defense against those pundits.

"I'm a capitalist and I believe in the profit motive, but there is a point in time where we have to say 'Wait a minute, what is going on here?'" he began.

But instead of launching into the story of workers in Gaffney, SC laid off at the hands of Bain -- a staple for the last few days in South Carolina -- he dinged the US Treasury for its cozy relationships with Wall Street banks, a months-old critique.

Perry's tempered criticism comes against the backdrop of a defection by a top Perry backer, Barry Wynn, to Romney's campaign. Wynn told the Associated Press that the Texas governor's recent attacks on Romney's record at Bain had spurred his decision to switch sides in the primary.

Asked about the "vulture" capitalism swipe on a Fox News interview Thursday, Perry did not disavow the attack outright but implied that his examination of Bain's record could help voters determine if Romney is a "flawed candidate" before the general election.

"The fact is, this process is about winnowing out individuals and testing whether or not they're a flawed candidate or not," he said. "And I will tell you when people can point to where you made a quick profit and kicked people out of their jobs, that is an issue that has got to be addressed."

LEXINGTON, SC -- Despite an onslaught of criticism from conservative commentators who have rushed to Mitt Romney's defense, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is not backing down on his attacks on Bain Capital's "get-rich-quick" schemes.

"The idea that you come in and destroy people's lives, the idea that you come in just to make a quick profit tear these companies apart," Perry told an audience of about 50 at Lizard's Thicket restaurant outside Columbia. "I understand restructuring, I understand these kind of things. But the idea that we can't criticize someone with these get-rich-quick schemes is not appropriate in my perspective."

Commentators from Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity have ripped into Perry and Newt Gingrich for their slams of Bain Capital's restructuring plans, calling the attacks "anti-capitalist" and comparing them to the language of Occupy Wall Street.

But Perry repeated his newly-minted phrase "vulture capitalism" three times at his first event of five campaign events today -- the day after Romney thundered to victory in the New Hampshire primary.

The Texas governor, who did not even muster 1% of the vote in last night's Granite State contest, tweaked the early nominating races in his appeal to South Carolinians.

"Who's South Carolina going to put forward? Iowa is a fine state. New Hampshire is an, uh, interesting place," he said to giggles from the crowd.

"But the fact of the matter is they winnow the field down. South Carolina is who picks presidents."

Justin Lane / EPA

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney acknowledges the crowd while standing with his family on stage after winning the New Hampshire primary at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Jan. 2012.

 Next up: The last stand of South Carolina… And it’s likely to get nasty there… How will Romney emerge 10 days for now: battered or the de facto nominee?... The message that could take on Romney (but is there a messenger to deliver it?)… About last night: breaking down the results and the exit polls… Paul’s second-place finish was a gift to Romney… Huntsman’s third-place finish was “meh”… Once again, GOP turnout wasn’t a “wow” figure… And Obama’s 82% was less than Clinton’s in ’96 but greater than Bush’s in ’04.

First Thoughts: Next up: The last stand

*** Next up: The last stand: After Mitt Romney’s decisive and expected victory in New Hampshire last night, the Republican presidential contest now turns to the Jan. 21 race in South Carolina, which will serve as a moment of truth for all the GOP candidates. For Romney, South Carolina -- where he finished fourth four years ago -- will prove if he can finally get conservatives in a non-New England state to put him over the top, essentially wrapping up the Republican nomination. For the conservative alternatives in the field (particularly Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum), it will prove if one of them can finally consolidate the conservative vote to decisively beat Romney in a race. For the conservative movement and the Tea Party, it will prove if they can stop the potential nomination of a man who implemented a health-care mandate in his state and who supported abortion rights about six years ago. For Rick Perry, who retreated to South Carolina after Iowa, it will prove if his decision to stay in the race was wise after his fifth-place finish in the Hawkeye State. And for Jon Huntsman, who is vowing to stay in, it will prove if his bronze metal can generate any additional life in his campaign. Bottom line: For everyone not named Mitt Romney or Ron Paul, South Carolina has become a last stand.

*** Things are going to get nasty: And that fact makes the race a compelling story, because it looks like things are going to get nasty in South Carolina. Already, the Gingrich campaign is up with a TV ad in the state hitting Romney on the subject of abortion, and the pro-Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future is supposed to be airing its anti-Bain ads and movie soon, too. And at 9:00 am ET today in Rock Hill, SC, NBC’s Alex Moe reports, Gingrich is expected to deliver a “defining” speech. "Bottom line here is you are seeing the single-most authentic candidate who has run for president who is not worried about what the consequences will be, who will put forth truth as people see it in their lives every day," Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told reporters last night. "A 68-year-old man is stepping forward, who wants to see the same kind of country for his grandchildren as he had," Hammond added.

*** How will Romney emerge 10 days from now -- beaten and battered or the de facto nominee? So South Carolina promises to be the first time that Romney will come under sustained fire -- particularly over the TV airwaves -- in this GOP race. And it will come after Romney’s rocky 48 hours leading up to the New Hampshire primary, particularly over the subject of Bain Capital. So, 10 days from now, it will be interesting to see what Romney looks like after this barrage. Yet consider this about Romney: He went into Iowa as the weak front-runner; he came out of it as the front-runner; and after last night’s victory, he’s emerged as the strong front-runner. And if he wins South Carolina, he will become the de facto nominee. It’s as simple as that.

*** The message to take on Romney: Yet while there might not be a viable GOP messenger to take on Romney in South Carolina and beyond, there is a conservative message: You’ve gotten a raw deal from Washington and a greedy Wall Street. It’s a populism argument from the conservative side. And Gingrich was trying to articulate it in an interview with NBC News yesterday. “There's a big difference between financial manipulation and capitalism,” he said. “Capitalism is when entrepreneurs go out and investors go out. They start something real. They grow something. And it has real impact. And remember, the workers are contributing, too. This isn't just three rich guys at the top. These are everybody in the company's trying to do something good.  And I really do represent a middle-class kind of approach to conservatism.  I think that you want everybody to succeed.” There’s a message out there, but is there a messenger to deliver it? Meanwhile, on “TODAY” this morning, NBC’s Matt Lauer asked Romney an intriguing question: Are questions about Wall Street greed and excess about envy or about fairness? Romney’s answer: “I think it’s about envy. It’s about class warfare.”

*** About last night: Here are the results from last night (with 95% precincts reporting): Romney 39% (exceeding John McCain’s winning 37% in ’08), Paul 23%, Huntsman 17%, Gingrich 9%, and Santorum 9%. Looking at the exit polls, Romney did a MUCH better job among conservatives, Tea Party supporters, and evangelicals than he did in Iowa. (Remember, though, New Hampshire is a much different place than Iowa or South Carolina; in fact, a combined 62% of New Hampshire primary voters considered themselves liberal or moderate on social issues.) Yet he underperformed among low- and middle-income GOP voters, getting 51% from those making $200,000 or more but getting just 31% among those making less than $30,000. Also, he didn’t fare as well among independents as you might have expected earlier, capturing 29% of that vote (versus 32% for Paul). Those are flashing yellow lights for his campaign.

*** Paul’s gift to Romney: Make no mistake: Paul’s second-place finish last night in New Hampshire was a gift to Romney. Anyone else finishing second in the state (Huntsman or Newt or Santorum) would have provided that candidate with some potential momentum heading into South Carolina.

*** Huntsman’s “meh” performance: Meanwhile, Huntsman’s third-place showing pretty much summed up his candidacy thus far: not awful but not great, either. Look at the groups he over-performed with: Democrats, independents, and those satisfied with the Obama administration. That’s not a coalition that will win you the GOP nomination in 2012. Huntsman is now taking his campaign to South Carolina, and the campaign tells us the strategy is to peel moderates away from Romney there. Unfortunately for him, the electorate there looks MUCH different than the electorate in New Hampshire.

*** Once again, GOP turnout wasn’t a “wow” figure: Here is something that might start to concern Republicans: For the second-straight contest, GOP turnout was pretty pedestrian, especially given the party’s supposed enthusiasm about defeating Obama in November. With 95% of precincts in, turnout in last night’s Republican primary in New Hampshire was slightly under 240,000, which is about the same as it was it was in 2000 and 2008. While turnout will increase once the other 5% comes in -- setting a record just like it did in Iowa -- it won’t be a WOW figure like we saw on the Democratic side in ’08.

*** Obama’s performance in NH: And don’t forget that President Obama was on the ballot last night, too, in New Hampshire. With 95% of precincts reporting, he got 82% of the vote (and nearly 47,000 votes) in the Democratic primary. That percentage is less than Bill Clinton’s 92% in 1996, but it’s greater than George W. Bush’s 80% in 2004. That said, the Dem primary turnout last night (53,000-plus) was less than the Dem turnout in ’96 (90,000-plus) and the GOP turnout in ’04 (67,000-plus).

Countdown to South Carolina primary: 10 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 20 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 24 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 55 days
Countdown to Election Day: 300 days

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter. Follow us @chucktodd, @mmurraypolitics, @DomenicoNBC, @brookebrower

ANDERSON, SC -- Accusing front-runner Mitt Romney of causing painful layoffs in South Carolina during his leadership at a Boston private equity firm, Texas Gov. Rick Perry mocked the former Bain Capital CEO for claiming yesterday that he once feared losing his job.
  
"I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out -- because his company Bain Capital and all the jobs that they killed," Perry said. "I'm sure he was worried that he would run out of pink slips." 

The Texas governor was referring to a comment Romney made in New Hampshire yesterday, when he said, "There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip.” But as the New York Times notes, his campaign could not cite specific examples of Romney almost getting a pink slip, although a spokesman said that “as a young person just out of college, [Romney] worked his way up the career ladder knowing that his continued employment was by no means guaranteed.” 
 
Perry -- who named a steel manufacturer in Georgetown, SC, and a photo album company in Gaffney that he says gutted jobs as a result of Bain's actions -- said that residents of those communities would be stunned by the remarks of "the son of a multi-millionaire." 
 
"There's something inherently wrong when getting rich off failure and sticking it to someone else is how you do your business. I happen to think that is indefensible," he told the breakfast crowd of about 75 at Mama Penn's restaurant here in Anderson. "If you're a victim of Bain Capital's downsizing, it's the ultimate insult for Mitt Romney to come to South Carolina and tell you he feels your pain. Because he caused it." 
 
The Texas governor continued to blast his rivals as a whole for being "insiders" chained to the DC status quo, although he did offer some complimentary words for Texas colleague Ron Paul when he asked if the famously anti-Fed congressman would make a good Federal Reserve chair. 
 
"Congressman Paul would be an ideal person to head up the Fed and put a little fear in their heart," he replied after chuckling that Paul would "probably scare all of those people to death." 
  
Perry, who hopes to score momentum from evangelicals in the Palmetto State, spoke at length about his faith, and joked that his identity as a Christian is fitting given his rocky moments as a candidate.
 
"God gives us what we can't give ourselves, and that's the gift of redemption," he said. "If you watch my debate performances, it's good to get a little bit of redemption every now and then. Get a second chance."

*** UPDATE *** Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul responds, "It is no surprise that, having spent nearly half a century in government between them, Speaker Gingrich and Gov. Perry have resorted to desperate attacks on a subject they don’t understand. We expect attacks on free enterprise from President Obama and his allies on the left – not from so-called ‘fiscal conservatives.’"