Sam Brownback
Brownback to Drop Out?
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), who has struggled to compete financially for the Republican presidential nomination, will announce tomorrow that he is dropping out of the 2008 contest, the Associated Press reported this morning.
Aides to the senator did not return calls this morning. The AP report cited two sources close to the senator, who said problems raising money prompted the upcoming announcement.
Brownback reported having only $95,000 in cash after the quarter that ended on Sept. 30. In total, Brownback has only raised $805,000, far short of the tens of millions that the leading candidates have raised.
A conservative who talked frequently about his faith, Brownback campaigned aggressively this summer in Iowa, but placed third behind former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Brownback's message about the importance of faith was often upstaged at the presidential debates by Huckabee, who is a former minister and spoke eloquently about religion several times during the debates.
And Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo's anti-immigration rants often stole the thunder from Brownback, who also advocates aggressive enforcement of the border.
That left the Kansas senator with little attention from the national media and little name recognition in national polls. In the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Brownback received only two percent among likely Republican voters.
--Michael D. Shear
Posted at 10:45 AM ET on Oct 18, 2007
| Category:
Sam Brownback
Share This: 
Technorati
| Tag in Del.icio.us | Digg This
Don't underestimate how BIG this is for Huckabee in Iowa. The Brownback supporters in Iowa will almost certainly move to Huckabee. Had all Brownback supporters voted for Huckabee in the Iowa straw poll then Huckabee would have won the straw poll 33.4% (18.1% + 15.3%) over Romney (31.6%).
This was an event I have been looking to as what leads to Huckabee winning Iowa. Remember this as a turning point in the Republican primary.
Posted by: jeffcobb | October 18, 2007 11:11 AM
Jeff is right, this could be absolutely huge for Huckabee, in that if people are looking for a social conservative with a strong faith-based message, they no longer have to struggle with which candidate to pick.
That said, it will be both significant and interesting to see what the Brownback message actually looks like. From my perspective, it would be marvelous to see Brownback turn to stand behind Huckabee, rather than producing a generic 'of course I will support whichever candidate is nominated' soliloquy.
If there was ever a case of it's not over 'til it's over, this is it.
Anyone have thoughts on the implications of this as it comes at a time when the Republican candidates are all clamoring at the Value Voters Summit?
Posted by: smb57 | October 18, 2007 11:33 AM
We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.