Thinning the Herd…
In what might be a surprise to some, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore has ended his presidential campaign. In his statement, Gilmore expressed his frustration with the current political process.
“I have come to believe that it takes more than a positive vision for our nation’s future to successfully compete for the Presidency,” he said. “I believe that it takes years of preparation to put in place both the political and financial infrastructure to contest what now amounts to a one-day national primary in February.”
Gilmore’s a good solid conservative, but ultimately he suffered from the “Who?” factor - in that if you asked someone what they thought of him, their response would be, “who?” He hadn’t raised much money, and he had also suffered a setback when he had to take some time off the campaign trail to have surgery to repair a torn retina.
I expect we’ll see more folks starting to drop out in the coming weeks, especially as Fred Thompson’s campaign gets into full swing. Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson has already said he’s planning on dropping out if he doesn’t win the Iowa Straw Poll in August, and I expect we’ll see Duncan Hunter and/or Mike Huckabee drop out in the not too distant future. Both have had difficulty raising money, and their poll numbers haven’t really moved much, with both stuck at or near the bottom of most Republican polling. Interestingly enough, I see the Republican field thinning before the Democratic field, simply because the Democrats at the bottom of the field strike me as just crazy enough to stick in the race until the bitter (and I mean bitter) end.
After all, Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich seem just crazy enough to stick in the race even after the little bit of money they have is all gone, because they seem pretty fanatical. Ultimately, I see Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Biden as the first two Democrats to call it quits, and after that it’s anyone’s guess.