Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is abandoning his White House bid, the Associated Press reported this evening. Richardson is expected to make the announcement Thursday.

The news comes a day after he finished in fourth place in New Hampshire, garnering only 13,249 of the 287,322 votes cast — less than 5% — in the Democratic primary. Last week, he similarly finished in fourth place in the Iowa caucuses with 2% of the vote. A spokesman did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Richardson

Richardson was never able to break into the first-tier of Democratic White House candidates despite being a popular governor with more extensive foreign policy credentials than many of his opponents. His absence will likely ensure that only Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards will appear in future network debates as the qualifying criteria to participate in the forums tightens along with the race.

Fellow long-shot candidates Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd dropped out of the race following fifth and seventh place showings in Iowa. Still in the race are Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Sen. Mike Gravel, who spent primary day in the hospital undergoing tests for a respiratory infection, AP reported. Gravel, 77 years old, said he is taking some time off from campaigning to recuperate. “I need to get healthy,” he said. “There's no sense running myself into the ground.”

Richardson is widely viewed in the party as the best potential candidate for the open Senate seat race to replace retiring New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. Late last year, Richardson strongly disputed suggestions that he would eventually run for the Senate, insisting that the White House was his only intention. Now that he is out, that conversation may begin again in earnest. Re-elected in 2006, Richardson is currently serving in his second-term.