Dean drops out of race

This is not original reporting. All information used in this story was taken from Reuters and AP news sources.

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean announced Tuesday that he would end his campaign for the presidency, while rallying his supporters to continue their efforts to unset President Bush this November.

After experts pegged Dean as the initial frontrunner to challenge President, his campaign was unable to recover from the momentum switch during the initial wave of primaries, when Massachusetts Senator John Kerry stole the headlines with wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"Today my candidacy may come to an end, but our campaign for change is not over," the former governor posted on his website.

Dean revolutionized the use of the campaigning via the Internet. Over 600,000 people have registered at his website, with over 40,000 individual donors contributing to his campaign online. It is estimated that Dean has raised over $20 million through the Internet alone.

Although Dean ended his campaign without winning a single primary, he could prove valuable to the Democratic Party because of his success in recruiting young voters, many of whom have never voted before. Dean's pitfall, according to exit polls, was on the issue of electibility.

Dean's initial fast start led pundits to believe that he could challenge President Bush for the presidency. However, Dean soon developed a reputation for being rash. Dean was heavily scrutinized after saying that he would be a candidate for white Southerners with Confederate flags in their pickups. Dean also received more negative publicity after emitting a "roar" on the night of the Iowa defeat, although Dean later said that his intent was to energize his core supporters.

It is unclear what role Dean will play in politics. Dean has said that he would put his support behind whichever candidate won the nomination. Dean is expected to expand his website to continue sending out his message of reform.