Democratic darkhorse Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson sent out an email to his supporters late Thursday afternoon, notifying them that the former governor, ambassador, and cabinet secretary has pulled out of the race for the nomination. Richardson served in Congress as a Representative, in the cabinet, as the Secretary of Energy, an Ambassador, and is currently the governor of New Mexico.

“It is with great pride, understanding and acceptance that I am ending my campaign for President of the United States. It was my hope that all of you would first hear this news from me and not a news organization. But unfortunately, as with too many things in our world today, it's the ending of something that garners the most intense interest and speculation,” reads the first paragraph of the announcement.

Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, managed to place only fourth in the New Hampshire primary.

“I am returning to a job that I love, serving a state that I cherish and doing the work of the people I was elected to serve,” Richardson’s campaign website now says.

Richardson, who most analysts agree was the most experienced person vying for the nomination, was lost in the massive pack of candidates from both parties. The unprecedented number of candidates continues to be pared down with this announcement, now including the withdrawal of two other Democratic candidates and one Republican due to their poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Now, at least, the other candidates can honestly say they are the most qualified, since all of them have served in some statewide or federal-level elected position.

Pundits and pollsters are wondering whether any of the long shot candidates in the Republican primary will pull out of the race, or try to cherry-pick wins in the biggest states in the weeks before Super Tuesday, February 5. On that day 20 of the most populous states will simultaneously conduct their primary elections, and over half of the delegates for each party’s national convention will be selected.

Pollsters missed calling the New Hampshire primary, having “decided” that the voters were going to choose Senator Barack Obama, Illinois, as the winner. For now, Obama and Clinton are in a dead heat in the run up to Super Tuesday. That may change, with Obama just getting the endorsement of Senator John Kerry, who snubbed his previous running mate John Edwards, and turned over the massive email list of contacts he gathered in 2004, which same say number around 3 million.