Texas Governor Rick Perry, one of Mitt Romney's former rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, has formally endorsed the former Massachusetts governor for president.

Perry, after previously endorsing Newt Gingrich, now says Romney, whom he once called a “vulture capitalist,” has “earned the nomination.”

“Today I join the many conservative Republicans across the nation in endorsing Mitt Romney for president and pledge to him, my constituents and the Republican Party than I will continue to work hard to help defeat President Obama," Perry said in a statement issued Wednesday.

"American jobs, economic stability and national security depend on electing a new president. Mitt's vision and record of private-sector success will put America back on the path of job creation, economic opportunity and limited government"...

Sources close to the Gingrich campaign say preliminary "what-if" conversations are underway that could lead to a Gingrich-Perry ticket being announced prior to the Republican National Convention at the end of August.

Gingrich insiders hope forming a predetermined ticket with Perry will unite the evangelical, Tea Party and very conservative voters that make up the core of the GOP.

As discussions got underway, a spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a statement saying, "Gov. Perry thinks Newt Gingrich is the strongest conservative to debate and defeat President Obama and truly overhaul Washington. The speculation is humbling but premature."

Floating Perry as a runningmate two days before Alabama and Mississippi could energize conservatives or turn them off.

A senior aide to Rick Santorum called it a desperate hail mary to create buzz ahead of contests in Alabama and Mississippi Tuesday...

A federal judge has ruled that Rick Perry and three other Republican presidential candidates will not be added to Virginia's primary ballot.

District Court Judge John Gibney Jr. rejected their requests, arguing that they filed their challenges to Virginia's stringent ballot requirements too late.

"They played the game, they lost, and then they complained about the rules," he said.

Two new polls today show a close race in South Carolina, the location of the third Republican presidential battleground in the race to replace pro-abortion President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney holds a solid lead in Florida.

With Iowa and New Hampshire having given the former Massachusetts governor victories in the two traditional early primary election states, Romney now holds a slim two-point lead over Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, according to a new survey from the Insider Advantage polling firm. Conducted for the Augusta Chronicle and The Savannah Morning News newspaper, Romney has 23 percent support, and Gingrich has 21 percent.

After the former Speaker, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has 14 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 13 percent, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has 7 percent, and Texas Gov.

What a difference a caucus makes. Rick Santorum who two months ago had one percent (1%) support among likely South Carolina Republican Primary voters now is running a close second there with 24% of the vote.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Palmetto State finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney still in the lead, earning 27% support from likely GOP Primary Voters, up from 23% in early November. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in third with 18% of the vote, followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 11%.

Bringing up the rear are Texas Governor Rick Perry with five percent (5%) and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at two percent (2%). Another two percent (2%) of these likely primary voters like some other candidate, and 11% remain undecided.

In the first Rasmussen Reports survey of the South Carolina Republican Primary race in November, Georgia businessman Herman Cain came in first with 33% support, followed by Romney and Gingrich.

It doesn’t look like Mitt Romney could lose New Hampshire, but then again, he can’t really win it either.

Even a 20-point landslide by Romney in New Hampshire would be instantly discounted as merely meeting expectations for the former governor of the neighboring state who keeps a summer home there.

The only way Romney could make news in New Hampshire would be if he ends up in a squeaker. Romney, having skated to a narrow victory in Iowa, would then be seen as hugely vulnerable. The stakes are high, but the risks of such an embarrassment look low.

For Iowa runner up, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, though, both the stakes and the risks are very high.

Mitt Romney set out Monday to defend a narrow lead against at least two insurgent candidates going into the Iowa caucuses, a contest that could either restore Romney's status as the race's frontrunner or once again shake up the field.

Romney is doing well in Iowa despite having all but ignored the contest earlier in the season. But while the former Massachusetts governor leads in recent polls, his 1- or 2-point advantage falls well within the margin of error. And with so many caucus-goers either undecided or open to changing their minds, GOP officials say the contest is anybody's game.

Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are nipping at Romney's heels, and both aim for a strong -- if not winning -- performance in Tuesday's caucuses. The volatile nature of the race lends hope to the rest of the candidates, who are banking on a strong organizational effort over the next 36 hours to out-perform the polls.

The pro-abortion political group Emily’s List has released a new ranking of the Republican presidential candidates and it labels former Speaker Newt Gingrich as the worst of the GOP hopefuls seeking to defeat pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

Emily’s List is releasing a scorecard on all of the candidates and sees Gingrich as the worst if only because he has refined his pro-life position and recently moved to supporting a position that life begins at conception or fertilization as opposed to saying it begins at implantation.

Gingrich’s voting record on pro-life issues reflected the consensus pro-life views of the majority of Americans.

Gingrich voted in favor of a ban on partial-birth abortion.

GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry isn't taking his rejection from the Virginia primary lying down. The Texas governor has filed a federal lawsuit in a U.S. District court to get on the ballot in the Old Dominion state.

Virginia has some of the toughest ballot restrictions in the country, and Perry is challenging the constitutionality of what his campaign calls such a "restrictive" primary process.

To qualify for the ballot, candidates must get 10 thousand signatures, 400 from each of the 11 Congressional districts, a task Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan calls "unrealistic" because only 119,034 Virginians voted in the 2008 Republican primary.

Only other two Republican candidates, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, have qualified for the Virginia primary.

"Virginia ballot access rules are among the most onerous and are particularly problematic in a multi-candidate election.

The Perry campaign is reviewing its options, after what could be a major mistake-- failing to qualify for the GOP primary in Virginia.

Shortly after discovering the news, Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan issued a statement saying, "Despite aggressive efforts collecting thousands of Virginia signatures after Governor Perry's mid-August entry into the race, we were notified this evening of apparently falling short of the 10,000 voter signatures needed to qualify."

Virginia has some of the toughest primary ballot rules. The state requires, 10 thousand signatures from registered voters, 400 from each of the 11 congressional districts.

Rick Perry isn't alone. The Virginia Republican Party says Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum also failed to make the primary ballot in Virginia. Perry was one of the four GOP hopefuls that turned the required paperwork with the Virginia Board of Elections. Former Massachusetts Gov.