When will Perry drop out of the race?

With Rick Perry’s support evaporating faster than Dabo Swinney’s after the Orange Bowl, the question is no longer if Perry will drop out after South Carolina, but when. After surging to front-runner status upon entering the race back in August, Perry is now polling at a distant sixth with little hope of rebounding before primary day.

Perry bet his campaign on South Carolina, announcing his run for presidency in Charleston and outspending all other candidates by a 3-1 ratio in the Palmetto State. But even $1.3 million in TV ads won’t be enough to save a campaign that proved itself so inept that many of his staff didn’t realize Perry was still in the race after Iowa.

On Thursday, top Republican donor and Perry supporter Barry Wynn announced he’s switching his support to Mitt Romney in light of the Texas governor’s attacks on Romney’s “vulture capitalism” while at Bain Capital. Wynn and other high-profile supporters likely see the writing on the wall, and are looking for any excuse to jump ship while they can.

Big-time donors aren’t the only ones leaving the Perry campaign in droves — The State’s Adam Beam posted a photo Wednesday of a campaign event at which Perry signs nearly outnumbered Perry supporters. Of course that may have something to do with the fact that Perry is just so darn awkward at his events, as the Free Times’ Corey Hutchins experienced first-hand Wednesday at Doc’s Barbecue in Columbia:

“Sir, a voter out there wanted to know what you’d do about the costly War on Drugs,” I say.

Rick Perry puts both hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes – and doesn’t answer. Rick Perry moves on.

Hutchins called South Carolina “Rick Perry’s Alamo,” and he’s mostly correct — although unlike the Perry campaign, the Alamo defenders at least put up a decent fight. Whether Perry drops out of the race during his concession speech on primary night or waits until the next morning like Michele Bachmann, it’s safe to say the good governor will soon be headed back to Texas.

Update: It appears not everyone has left Perry’s side just yet. In an interview with Sean Hannity last night. Sarah Palin attempted to defend Perry’s use of the term “vulture capitalism” by rambling through a 95-word sentence that seemed to entirely consist of buzzwords: