Tancredo Throws in Towel

Republican hopeful Tom Tancredo abandoned his long-shot bid for the presidency this afternoon, reports the AP, and in turn gave his endorsement to rival Mitt Romney. The Colorado congressman has been pushing his hardline views on illegal immigration throughout the campaign but hasn't been able to get his poll numbers into double digits.

Tancredo ran a controversial campaign, making provocative statements about bombing Mecca and showing shock TV ads depicting a hooded bomber blowing up a mall. Tancredo recently said he wouldn't seek re-election to the House, and that if his bid for the White House didn't work out, he'd consider a Senate run in 2010. (More Tom Tancredo stories.)