Gilmore drops out of GOP contest

By TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore pulled out of the Republican presidential race yesterday, citing money woes.

Gilmore said he plans to stay active in politics in Virginia and will form a political-action committee to help Republican candidates in General Assembly races this fall.

Gilmore said he felt he had influenced the debate over Iraq and immigration in the Republican nominating contest but did not have the "financial infrastructure" to contest for the nomination.

While Gilmore has raised in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the leading contenders have raised millions. His long-shot bid for president had hardly registered in the national polls. Gilmore, 57, was Virginia's governor from 1998 to 2002.

Mark Rozell, a political scientist at George Mason University, said the lack of fundraising reflected the candidate's inability to be taken seriously.

"This is a campaign that people everywhere, except possibly Jim Gilmore, wondered why he thought he could run for president," Rozell said.

But in a conference call with reporters, Gilmore said he felt he was making headway and had done well in the debates.

"The combination of my late start and the front-loaded nature of the primary schedule have made it impractical to continue to pursue this path towards further public service," he said.

While he said he has a "Rolodex" full of potential donors, "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."

Many states, including such large states as California and New York, have moved up their primaries to Feb. 5, requiring a substantial investment in television advertising and on-the-ground staff.

Gilmore, seeing a potential opening for a consistently conservative candidate in the crowded Republican field, entered the race in January.

Two weeks ago Gilmore had to leave the campaign trail after sudden surgery for a detached retina. Gilmore said his eye is now fine and that did not play a role in his decision.

Second-quarter financial reports are due from candidates today. Dick Leggitt, a spokesman for Gilmore, said Gilmore would have reported about $211,000 in new contributions, better than in the first quarter, but still not nearly enough.

The GOP front-runner, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, raised $15 million in the second quarter.

While Gilmore made little impact in the national polls, Leggitt said "our numbers are very good in Virginia." The decision to pull out of the race was made Friday night, he said.

Gilmore said he has been asked to run for the U.S. Senate if Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., retires next year, and for governor in 2009. He is keeping his options open, he said.

Gilmore, a former Henrico County commonwealth's attorney, lives in western Henrico County. He works for a Washington law firm.

Gilmore is the last of three potential Virginia presidential candidates to get out of the presidential race. Former Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, cited family considerations last year when he withdrew. Former Republican Gov. and Sen. George Allen was eliminated when he lost re-election to the Senate last year.