One of the tightest primary seasons in US history officially came to a close Saturday when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped out of the race. Speaking to supporters in Washington, D.C., Clinton urged support for Senator Barack Obama.

Sen. Hillary Clinton: “The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand, is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States. Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him.”

Clinton was unable to overcome Obama’s lead, despite a string of victories near the end of the contest. She went on to address the historical significance of her campaign as a female candidate.

Sen. Hillary Clinton: “You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.”

Clinton had long been declared the front-runner and was even said to be virtually assured of the nomination. But her campaign is widely seen to have suffered over her 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war and her refusal to apologize for it.