Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, after failing to pick up any primary wins, is bowing out of the quest for the Republican nomination for President.
He said, "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
Rep. Zach Wamp, who helped urged Thompson to make the race, said he was "a thoroughbred candidate who was right on the issues."
But he said the Thompson campaign failed to gain traction and got too far behind to catch up.
In an interview on WGOW Talk Radio, Rep. Wamp said Sen. Thompson would make a good choice for vice president.
He said he believes John McCain now is the GOP frontrunner, and he said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
has fallen too far behind.
He said he believes some Thompson backers will join the McCain campaign, while others will support Mike Huckabee. He said he does not expect that many will back Mitt Romney.
Rep. Wamp said he does not expect Sen. Thompson to make an endorsement.
Tennessee Democratic Party spokesperson Wade Munday said following the Thompson announcement, "After a slow start, it's clear that the now-defunct campaign of Fred Thompson typifies the sort of disunity within the Republican Party unable to find a cogent message of substance over style.
"From poorly-managed internal operations to public resignations of chief campaign staff, there were signs of trouble from the beginning.
"While Sen. Thompson might not be in this race any more, we are certain that a Republican with a similar brand of marketing gimmicks and sound bites will arrive in Tennessee. However, with Sen. Thompson now out of the race officially, we can see that Tennessee is once again a battleground state."