Rick Perry's 2012 Presidential Campaign Ends: Twitter Reacts To Perry Dropping Out (TWEETS)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, days ahead of South Carolina's primary election.

After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the 2012 Iowa caucus, Perry initially said he would go back to Texas to reassess his campaign, but the following day announced his decision to continue on, writing in a tweet, "Here we come South Carolina!!!" Despite low polling numbers, Perry seemed to show no sign of giving up, telling CNN on Sunday he intended to press on to Florida even if he came in last place in South Carolina.

But after mounting pressure from Republican leaders for Perry to step aside and make room for conservatives to coalesce around a single candidate, the Texas governor ended his bid for the White House and indicated his support for presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney reacted to the news by praising Perry for his contributions to the country. "He's a great conservative and a great man," Romney said at a campaign event. "He made a great contribution ... He already has to his state and to our country."

Arizona local station KTAR reports Sheriff Joe Arpaio said America's loss is Texas's gain. "I really have a lot of respect for him. I think it's a big loss to our country," he said. "But that's the way politics is and he'll still be the governor of Texas."

Check out how others are reacting to the news, via Twitter: