Huckabee, in a statement, said that as "a true authentic, consistent, conservative, I have a vision to bring hope, opportunity and prosperity to all Americans, and I'd like to ask for and welcome the support of those who had previously been committed to Mitt."
Even if all of Romney's delegates were to support Huckabee, which isn't likely, he would still trail McCain by roughly 250 delegates.
McCain has more than 700 of the 1,191 delegates needed to win the nomination and is expected to add more than 100 delegates in the Potomac primary.
Romney, a wealthy venture capitalist, never recovered from setbacks in early voter tests.
The former Massachusetts governor invested heavily in organization and advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire, but he lost the first to Huckabee and the second to McCain.
After winning Michigan, thanks largely to his family roots and a message targeted to that economically hard-hit state, he suffered defeats in South Carolina and Florida. A relatively poor showing on Super Tuesday finished him off.
Romney was dogged by charges that he switched positions for reasons of political expedience on core conservative issues, including abortion and gun control. He governed as a moderate in Massachusetts but swung to the right as a presidential candidate.
His decision yesterday "flabbergasted" Romney supporter Rory Carlin, a student at Washington College in Chestertown.
"I was not expecting a concession speech at all," Carlin said, adding that he hoped the party would now unite behind McCain because "Republicans need a strong candidate" in November.
paul.west@baltsun.com
