October 18, 2007

WH '08: Brownback To Bow Out

The Republican field has suffered another casualty, as Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is expected to end his nine-month bid for the presidency after failing to register in fundraising and polls.

Although he had previously said he would drop out of the race if he finished worse than fourth in the Iowa caucuses this January, the final blow to his struggling campaign appears to have come much earlier. According to finance reports his campaign submitted this week, Brownback raised only $817,286 in the third quarter and $3.5 million since he announced.

In the latest Strategic Vision (R) poll of Iowa Republicans, Brownback polled at just 4 percent. A recent Gallup/USA Today poll placed him at 2 percent nationally.

Brownback had hoped his social conservatism and emphasis on family values would help catapult his name to the upper tier. His low name recognition and lack of high-powered backing, however, seemed to doom his candidacy from the start. In August, he finished a disappointing third in the Ames Iowa straw poll. Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is also running on a family-values platform and placed second in Ames, saw his bid flourish.

While the Ames results prompted Tommy Thompson to hang up his hat, Brownback vowed to persevere. As of this afternoon, the Kansas senator is still slated to address the Values Voters Summit in Washington this weekend.

Brownback's support will probably go to former Baptist preacher Huckabee, as religious conservatives remain suspicious of front-runners Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. Campaign watchers will also welcome Brownback's decision. Nothing personal, of course. Pundits have simply wanted a thinning of the herd for some time.

Brownback's withdrawal also means the '08 contest loses one of the few Republican candidates to offer a detailed strategy for the Iraq war. Last week, he appeared in Iowa alongside Democratic hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden to promote their bipartisan resolution pushing three-state partition in Iraq. Brownback also recently said he was looking to unroll a new campaign strategy in Iowa focused on grassroots efforts.

When he first entered the Senate in 1996, Brownback pledged he would only serve two full terms. There is some speculation he will run for Kansas governor if he leaves the Senate as expected in 2010.

Photo by Flickr user IowaPolitics.com

Posted at 12:06 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tommy Thompson, WH 2008
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