Promising Start

Campaign 2012: GOP Dropouts

In this June 21 photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, kisses his daughter Gracie Mae while his other daughter Asha rushes him, after he announced his bid at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

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Campaign 2012: G... For many, the race to replace President Barack Obama seemed to start in January 2008.
Four long years later, the crowded field of Republican candidates chomping at the bit to replace Obama is finally thinning down to just one man (or two, Ron Paul! with Newt Gingrich stepping out of the race May 2.
Some candidates dropped out early, some offered impassioned Pokemon-themed goodbyes...some never actually said they were running at all, but still had to make official statements that they weren't in the race.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised and spent, but only one man is left leading the GOP field.
Here's a look at the long, and sometimes strange, race to the final 2012 showdown with incumbent President Obama.

(AP Photos)

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Perry Quits in S... Anita Perry, wife of Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry listens at left, during a news conference in North Charleston, S.C., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, where Perry announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Perry's Big Gaff... Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry holds his proposed income tax form during his interview by Megyn Kelly on "America Live" on the Fox News Channel in New York, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Perry rearranged his schedule after a disastrous debate moment in which he could not remember the third federal agency he had vowed to abolish. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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Perry Announces Texas Gov. Rick Perry, center, waves to the crowd after announcing his run for president in 2012 at the RedState Gathering Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)

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One and Done: Hu... Mary Anne Huntsman, left, grabs the hand of her father, Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, as they walk off stage with wife Mary Kaye, after announcing his withdraw from the race and endorsement for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Jan. 16, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Huntsman dropped out after a poor showing in New Hampshire. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Third Place Conf... Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman raises hands with his family during a New Hampshire Primary night party in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday Jan. 10, 2012. He came in third after staking his campaign on the Granite State primary. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Promising Start In this June 21 photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, kisses his daughter Gracie Mae while his other daughter Asha rushes him, after he announced his bid at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

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Disappointing Fi... Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. announced that she was ending her campaign for president on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in West Des Moines, Iowa. She placed last in Iowa, getting just 5 percent of the vote. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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Bachmann on the ... Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., signs an autograph during a campaign stop at Tangleberries in Centerville, Iowa, on Dec. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Bachmann Announc... U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., addresses the crowd during a welcome home event in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa Sunday, June 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Cain Suspends Hi... Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain announced he was suspending his campaign Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. "I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," Cain told several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

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Cain on the Camp... Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain holds up a muffin that has his catch-phrase 9-9-9 tax plan printed on it, before speaking at the National Press Club in Washington on Oct. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Cain Announces H... In this May 21, 2011, photo, Gloria Cain, left, accompanies her husband Herman Cain as he announces his run as a Republican candidate for president in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

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Pawlenty 2012 In this image from video provided by ABC News, Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaks on ABC's "This Week" in Ames, Iowa, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011. Hours after finishing a disappointing third in the Iowa straw poll, Pawlenty dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination. "I wish it would have been different. But obviously the pathway forward for me doesn't really exist so we are going to end the campaign," he said. (AP Photo/ABC News)

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Pawlenty 2012 Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaks during a town hall meeting at his campaign headquarters in Urbandale, Iowa., Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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'T-Paw' Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty speaks during a Tea Party rally Saturday, April 16, 2011, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Pawlenty, "T-Paw" to his supporters, tied himself to the new crop of grass-roots activists in the 2012 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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No Palin 2012 Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks during World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011. Palin told the business forum that the United States is due for a female president, but announced several days before that she would not seek the GOP nomination in 2012. (AP Photo/ Maeil Business News Paper, Lee Seung-hwan)

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Tea Party for Pa... Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin addressed a Tea Party Express Rally in Manchester, N.H., Sept. 5, 2011. Palin left open the possibility of a presidential bid while encouraging tea party activists to unite against President Obama. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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Tea Party for Pa... Timothy Jacques of Bellvue, Neb., stands in the rain while waiting for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to speak to Tea Party members during the Restoring America event, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, in Indianola, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Chris Christie: ... Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at Exeter High School in Exeter, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Christie backed Romney after brushing off intense speculation that he might run for president. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Trump Ends Bid This May 11, 2011, file photo shows then-possible 2012 presidential hopeful, Republican Donald Trump, waving to a crowd of over 500 people during a luncheon at the Chamber of Commerce in Nashua, N.H. After months of flirting with politics, Trump said Monday, May 16, 2011, that he won't run for president, choosing to stick with hosting "The Celebrity Apprentice" over entering the race for the Republican nomination. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

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Trump Stumping? Donald Trump greets customers at the Roundabout Diner Wednesday, April 27, 2011 in Portsmouth, N.H. Trump said he was "very proud" to have forced the White House's decision to release President Barack Obama's birth certificate. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

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Trump Backs Romn... Donald Trump speaks at a news conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, to endorse Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Santorum's Getty... Rick Santorum suspended his campaign April 10 after a surprising run as front-runner that petered out in late March. Santorum faced a tough fight in Pennsylvania, his home state, against Romney. (AP Photo)
Gingrich: I'll Q... Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Cramerton, N.C., Wednesday, April 25, the day after Mitt Romney swept five states. With Rick Santorum out and a weak showing in Delaware - where Gingrich staked his dying campaign - the former House Speaker said he planned to end his campaign within a week. That leaves Ron Paul - he pledged to hang in until the Florida Convention, despite impossible odds. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Gingrich Makes i... Newt Gingrich can now call himself a former presidential candidate. As expected, the former house speaker has bowed out of the Republican presidential contest May 2 - just short of a year after getting into the race. He did not immediately endorse Mitt Romney, the likely GOP nominee. After losing contests in five states last week, Gingrich said it was clear that Romney would be the nominee and he signaled that his own topsy-turvy campaign had reached its end. Gingrich now has the added challenges of rebuilding his image as a one-man GOP idea machine and paying off at least $4.5 million in campaign debt. Joined by his wife for the announcement in Arlington, Va., Gingrich described the campaign as "an amazing year" for his entire family. (AP Photo)