Posted on 07/14/2007 1:52:52 PM PDT by no dems
Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III is dropping his underdog bid for the Republican presidential nomination today, he told The Politico in an interview.
Gilmore said he has been approached about running for Virginia governor a second time, and about running for U.S. Senate if Sen. John W. Warner (R) retires. Gilmore said he will consider both options. Reflecting his burgeoning interest in Old Dominion politics, he said he will start a political action committee to support Republicans running for the state senate and House of Delegate.
In the interview, Gilmore said the punishing financial requirements of the early-starting race caused him to decide it was "impractical" to continue. "Because of the front-loading of the primaries, I would have basically had to stop campaigning and spend full time organizing hundreds of people to raise money for me," he said.
Later, Gilmore's campaign issued a statement in which he said: "I have come to believe that it takes more than a positive vision for our nation's future to successfully compete for the presidency. I believe that it takes years of preparation to put in place both the political and financial infrastructure to contest what amounts to a one-day national primary in February."
Gilmore said he made the decision in the past 48 hours on the basis of "an assessment of where I could do the most good for the country and the state of Virginia." He said he has not made a decision about endorsing one of his rivals, but said he would not rule it out.
Gilmore had offered himself as the "consistent conservative" and heir to Ronald Reagan in a field that has left many Republican activists dissatisfied. He is the first major GOP candidate to leave the race. He said he will continue to speak out on issues like homeland security and terrorism, subjects that he emphasized in debates and that helped him shape the race.
Other candidates commanded much more cash and attention, keeping Gilmore a distant also-ran. Financial reports this weekend showed he had little hope of cracking the top tier. Gilmore raised $170,000 in the first three months of the year and said he collected $211,000 in the quarter ending June 30, while the leading candidates in the race banked millions.
In Gilmore's successful race for a four-year term for Virginia governor in 1997, he showed the popular appeal of fiscal conservativism with his "no car tax" pledge to reduce the commonwealth's personal property tax.
While in office, he served briefly as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Gilmore is a lawyer who has made counterterrorism and homeland security his specialties since leaving office. An Army veteran and son of a Safeway meat cutter, he rose as an outsider in the clubby world of Richmond law, becoming Henrico County commonwealth's attorney and state attorney general. He was the first chairman of a congressionally appointed commission on terrorism that became known as the Gilmore Commission.
You also have to be able to think on your feet and run your mouth so somebody out there gets the idea you have the right stuff between the ears. He obviously failed make the cut and that’s all on him.
Given the reality of the situation, this is a good move for Gilmore, and good for Virginia. VA needs all the help it can get to prevent it from going completely blue. He was a very popular governor (and Atty Gen) who had to step aside because the VA constitution forbad him from running for another (consecutive) term. Gilmore would also make an excellent Supreme Court Justice, US Atty Gen or VP candidate.
I hear ya, got a sis living there and been trying to get her to move out for the longest time....
I hope he can hold the Warner seat.
I think he’s a good guy but there are too many candidates and fundraising is really low for all Repubs.
....and General Francisco Franco, Yassir Arafat and Jimmy Carter are STILL dead.
Wait. Jimmy Carter is not dead? That’s OK. I’ll wait.
It has been reported that John Warner has decided to retire, but will not announce his decision until later in order to help the candidacy of Northern Virginia Congressman Thomas M. Davis, although this has not been confirmed in an official statement by Warner. Senator Warner raised only $500 for re-election in the first quarter of 2007. Warner is speculated to be delaying his official retirement announcement to prevent an extreme right wing candidate from winning the Republican nomination.
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[Davis] is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of Republicans who describe themselves as "mainstream".
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The Republican Main Street Partnership was formed following the 1994 House elections, in which conservative Republicans were swept into power. An informal discussion group formed by Representatives Nancy Johnson, Steve Gunderson, and Fred Upton later became somewhat of an organized bloc with the intent on representing the moderate wing of the Republican Party. Currently comprised of moderates such as John McCain and Olympia Snowe, some members would fit most of the criteria of a conservative, such as Deborah Pryce and Jerry Weller.
The Republican Main Street Partnership has allied with other moderate Republican groups, including Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party Too, Ann Stone's Republicans for Choice, the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Majority For Choice, The Wish List, Republicans for Environmental Protection, and the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority.
In May 2005, the Republican Main Street Partnership helped pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in the House Of Representatives; 50 Republicans voted in support of the bill, which passed 238-194.
We need Gilmore to run for the Senate. He’d be better than Warner (who I assume will retire) and much better than Tom Davis.
Good thing for the founding of our nation that substance was favored image back then.
I am hopeful that Governor Gilmore is going to lend his leadership to help re-establish the VA GOP as the majority party. I would advise him that the only way to do it is by firmly setting the Grand Old Party in the Old Dominion on principled conservative values.
Allen for gov again and Gilmore for Senate sounds good to me.
I had diner with him once. I believe he will make a very good reliable senator.
I hope that Gilmore does run for Warner’s Senate seat and that he will have some success brining VA back into the Conservative fold.
Gilmore is more of a Conservative than many Pubbies.
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