Oct. 18, 2007
Sam Brownback To End White House Run
CBS News Confirms The Republican Senator Will Make Announcement On Friday In Kansas
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Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., speaks during the GOP Presidential debate in Michigan earlier this month. (AP)
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Melissa Brunner, of WIBW CBS Topeka, spoke with Christian Morgan, chair of the Kansas Republican Party. They are assisting Brownback in holding a press conference tentatively scheduled for late afternoon tomorrow.
Money was a main reason for his decision, said one person close to Brownback who requested anonymity because the candidate had not yet announced his plans. Brownback is expected to announce his withdrawal in Topeka, Kan.
"Brownback has been unable to get traction in key states like Iowa where he has spent most of his time and effort," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs. "If Brownback does leave the race, it could provide some marginal help for a candidate such as Mike Huckabee who may gain support from activists dissatisfied with the front-runners in the race but is unlikely to have much of an impact overall."
It's widely anticipated Brownback will run for Kansas governor in 2010, when his term - his second - expires. He had promised in his first Senate campaign to serve no more than two terms.
"He also mentioned he is really looking forward to spending more time in Kansas," the person said.
As recently as last week, Brownback indicated he would keep campaigning through Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses in January, saying he would exit the race if he finished worse than fourth there.
But his fundraising has sagged. Reports released Monday showed that of the nine Republican candidates, Brownback was seventh in fundraising from July through September and had a mere $94,000 cash on hand, less than any of his rivals. Brownback raised nearly $4 million overall and was eligible for $2 million in federal matching funds.
He spent a good chunk of his money on the Iowa straw poll, an early test of strength whose significance diminished after Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani decided not to compete. He finished third in the August contest behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The straw poll gave a boost to Huckabee, said Chuck Hurley, an influential Iowa conservative who is friend and adviser to Brownback.
"Brownback's campaign didn't catch fire," Hurley said. "It's just the field is still so full, and the pool of voters he was most fishing from was almost perfectly split between him and Mike Huckabee."
Hurley said Brownback called him Thursday morning to say he was dropping out.
Nationally, Brownback had the support of 1 percent of Republicans in this month's Associated Press-Ipsos poll, after peaking at 3 percent in June.
Besides money, Brownback was hurt because he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, an issue that angers conservatives who influence voting in Iowa and other states that are struggling to provide education, medical care and other services to an influx of immigrants in recent years.
People close to Brownback said it was unlikely he would endorse another candidate on Friday.
It's uncertain how much weight a Brownback endorsement would carry. While the anti-abortion senator is a favorite of religious conservatives, he failed to become their consensus candidate and ranks low in national polls and state surveys.
Still, a nod from Brownback could bolster the conservative credentials of a candidate such as McCain or Huckabee, the rivals who appear most likely to receive his support.
Brownback and McCain are close Senate comrades and have refrained from criticizing one another, instead assailing Romney.
While McCain has a voting record similar to Brownback's on cultural issues, McCain prompts skepticism on the right flank of the party because he isn't a high-profile crusader against abortion rights and gay marriage. Brownback's backing could signal to Christian conservatives that they can trust McCain.
Campaigning in Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday, McCain said of Brownback, "I'll miss him in this debate. He's a voice for family. He's a voice for the pro-life movement and community in America."
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher, is another favorite of religious conservatives. But like Brownback, he has struggled to rally that voting bloc around his candidacy. He, too, could benefit from Brownback's backing.
Huckabee, campaigning in Rindge, N.H., declined to comment on Brownback's withdrawal because he hadn't heard it officially.
It's harder to imagine any other Republican in the field getting a Brownback nod, although former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is a possibility. The Kansas senator has bitterly criticized Romney, and Giuliani is disliked by many religious conservatives because of his abortion rights and gay rights positions.
©MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The secrets of tennis legend 
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See all 24 CommentsPosted by cfin5 at 01:39 PM : Oct 18, 2007"
You should stop right there. Fox? Who is Fox to comment on our government? He can''t even handle his own country.
By support, I do not mean people who are willing to toilet paper the internet with his name, I mean people that will use their ONE vote for him.
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Lord, he has been at every debate and everyone knows who he is. I have not talked to one person that even is remotely interested in politics that does not know who Ron Paul is. He ran as a Libertarian, although he is not a Libertarian, so now he wants to run as a Republican. If he wanted to be a Republican, why was he running as a Libertarian????
I think Republicans would like someone that has least been a Republican for a while.
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Oh, please keep this guy out of our governor''s mansion. We have managed, although I don''t know how, to keep a moderate in our governorship, for a long time here in Kansas. We have had moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats, but what we haven''t has is some nutty idealogue like Sam.
Colbert in...
Works for me
Why Don''''t You Know Ron Paul??????
The corporate media will not give Ron Paul any Exposure. Because, NBC is owned by GE. GE is one of the world''''s largest war-makers. They make things that go boom. They make $Billions on war. A Ron Paul administration would be bad for business. CNN is owned by AOL. Majority share holder is Saudi Royal Talal who is also partners with GHWBush in The Carlyle Group. Another major warmaker. And on and on. You get the picture. This is why they are doing a Media Blackout on him. Because they don''''t WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!!
Who is Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about
Ron Paul Has WON 10 Straw-Polls!
Who Owns The Media: http://www.mediaowners.com
RESTORE YOUR LIBERTY & FREEDOM
SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT RON PAUL 2008!
Ron Paul Will:
** Stop Iraq War Immediately
** Eliminate IRS
** Eliminate Federal Reserve
** Eliminate Government Wasteful Spending
** Restore America''''s Work Force & Values
** Restore America''''s Freedom!
GET UP AND GET ACTIVE TODAY!!!
Ron Paul Is America''''s Last Hope!
Join The ReVoLuTiOn In Your City Stand Up America:
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We have Domestic Terrorists It Is Called The Bush Administration And All Of His "Secretive Signed Statements" Either Stand Up Now or Go To Sams Club And Keep Buying Cases of Vasiline So When You Put Hillary In Office! WAKE UP AMERICA!
The first candidate to seriously state this agenda, can walk away with the presidency. They just don''t get it. Even a Democrat would win with this one.
You''re from Kansas and you don''t realize he''s a Senator?
You will be given you three chances to convert%u2026%u2026..
Allah auk bah
Fred Thompson, a career lobbyist, represents everything that is wrong with Washington. Hes the corporations and special interests wet dream. If you like Bush, youll just love Thompson. If you like government by the corporation, of the corporation and for the special interests, hes your man. Hes a multinational corporation posing as a human being.
How convenient that when america notices what a sorry lot the GOP candidates are some other fake actor ronald reagan wanna be comes in with so much media favor to take the reins as the official banana republicon candidate for empire and national decline...
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See all 24 Comments