Rick Santorum on Wednesday dropped out of the Republican race for president and endorsed Florida Sen. [crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore].

“We are suspending our campaign as of this moment,” Santorum said during an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.

Santorum said he spoke to Rubio for more than an hour on Tuesday after the Iowa caucuses. “I don’t endorse lightly,” he said.

“He’s a tremendously gifted young man and he is a leader,” he said. “He is a born leader. … He is the new generation and someone that can bring this country together.”

The former Pennsylvania senator was never able to regain his popularity in Iowa after winning the caucuses in 2012. He won just about 1 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kentucky Sen. [crscore]Rand Paul[/crscore] withdrew from the race. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also left the race after a disappointing finish in Iowa.

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