Huckabee drops out of presidential race

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee abandoned his U.S. presidential bid on Tuesday after voting in four more state contests made it clear his rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain, would be the Republican candidate in the November election.

"It's now important that we turn our attention not to what could have been or what we wanted to have been but what now must be, and that is a united party," Huckabee told supporters in at a Texas rally.

McCain has been the party's presumptive candidate since his leading rivals dropped out of the race, leaving only Huckabee to challenge him. Voting on Tuesday put McCain very close to winning the nomination.