Woman quits US presidential race

Moseley Braun defended Dean during a recent debate

The only woman among the US Democrat's presidential hopefuls has dropped out of the race and endorsed front-runner Howard Dean.

Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun was a distant long-shot, and her campaign failed to gain much ground.

The move reduces the number of Democrat candidates to eight.

Ms Braun - the first black woman in the US Senate - endorsed Mr Dean at a joint appearance at a high school in Carroll, Iowa, on Thursday.

She said Mr Dean was the best choice to "renew our country and restore our privacy, our liberty and our economic security".

DEMOCRATS STILL STANDING Wesley Clark Howard Dean John Edwards Richard Gephardt John Kerry Dennis Kucinich Joseph Lieberman Al Sharpton Profile: Carol Moseley Braun

"Governor Dean has the energy to inspire the American people, to break the cocoon of fear that envelopes us and empowers President Bush and his entourage from the extreme right-wing," she said.

Mr Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, said Ms Braun had approached the former Vermont governor after a recent debate and told him she was thinking of leaving the race and backing him.

She leapt to his defence at a debate in Iowa last Sunday when civil rights activist Al Sharpton questioned Mr Dean's racial hiring record while governor.

Mr Dean welcomed Ms Braun's endorsement, saying he hoped it would hasten the day when a woman or minority candidate could win the White House.

"I'm going to miss you at those debates, stepping in and defending me from those outrageous things people say," he said.

Iowa will be the first state to pick a challenger to President George W Bush on Monday.

Mr Dean is locked in a tough four-way race there with Richard Gephardt, John Edwards and John Kerry.