"Howard Dean's top aides are urging him to abandon the Democratic presidential race if he loses Wisconsin's primary," the AP reports, "and they're all but certain he will follow their advice."
Campaign manager Roy Neel "did not dispute" the story, "but cautioned that Dean is still mulling his options" should he lose Tuesday in Wisconsin's primary.
There were similar reports yesterday that Dean's campaign will end this week.
Update: The AP updates the story with Dean telling his advisers "We are not bowing out."
Update II: The New York Times reports Dean's campaign chairman will "shift his support to" Sen. John Kerry if Dean "loses the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, an outcome he sees as all but inevitable."
In their last debate before Wisconsin, the Washington Post notes Dean "had nothing but kind words and sounded like a candidate on his way out of the race."