Report: 100 Tea Party Members to Back Newt

Newt Gingrich today is expected to announce the endorsement of 100 South Carolina tea party supporters, according to online reports.

The move comes as Texas Gov. Rick Perry announces his withdrawal from the race and weeks after Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, once a tea party darling, dropped out of the race.

“My sense is there is a growing coalition behind Newt Gingrich,” Joe Dugan, who leads the state’s chapter of Tea Party Patriots, told TheDC.

South Carolina Republicans head to the polls Saturday to nominate a presidential candidate. show the race is increasingly becoming a two-man contest between Gingrich, a former speaker of the house, and Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and business executive.

In Gingrich's latest ads, he paints himself as the only alternative to "Massachusett's Moderate Mitt Romney," who despite consistently strong poll showings, has struggled to capture the full support of conservative voters.