Giuliani, Edwards quit White House race

By Steve Holland

SIMI VALLEY, California (Reuters) - Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat John Edwards abandoned their failing U.S. presidential bids on Wednesday, narrowing the race in both parties to two main candidates ahead of next week's multi-state round of voting.

Giuliani, the one-time front-runner who finished a distant third in Florida's Republican primary on Tuesday, traveled to California to endorse Arizona Sen. John McCain in a hard-fought Republican battle against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"Today I am officially announcing my withdrawal as a candidate for president of the United States," Giuliani said at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley before a Republican presidential debate.

"John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander-in-chief of the United States."

Edwards traveled to New Orleans, where he launched his campaign more than a year ago, to make the surprise announcement that he was folding his campaign. Edwards vowed last week to stay in the race until Tuesday, when almost half the U.S. states vote on candidates for the November election.

The withdrawal of Edwards, who campaigned as the champion of low- and middle-income families, left former first lady Hillary Clinton facing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination in what seemed likely to be a long, bruising struggle.

"It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, told supporters in a New Orleans neighborhood devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Regardless of whether Obama or Clinton wins, Democrats will field a history-making ticket, the first time a black or woman has headed a major U.S. political party's presidential ticket.