Thread: Tancredo will decide on presidential run within 2 weeks

Date: 3/22/2007

Tancredo will decide on presidential run within 2 weeks



The Associated Press

DENVER — Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, an outspoken advocate of an immigration crackdown, said Thursday he would decide within two weeks whether to run for president.

Tancredo formed an exploratory committee in January, and his campaign stops have included Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has hired a campaign manager in New Hampshire, the state with the first presidential primary.

Spokesman Alan Moore said Tancredo’s late March campaign finance report will show he has raised more than 1 million in donations, but Moore said money would not be the only factor in Tancredo’s decision.

“It’s a big personal decision,” Moore said. “It’s about support, something he has to talk over with his family.”

Tancredo has conceded he is an underdog but describes himself as an alternative for GOP voters unhappy with other Republicans. He has staked out conservative positions on social issues, opposing abortion rights, gay marriage and federal financing of embryonic stem cell research.

http://www.longmontfyi.com/latest-news.asp?ID=15353

Tancredo tops $1 million in exploratory presidential bid
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
March 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo has raised more than $1 million for his exploratory presidential bid, saying that makes it far more likely he will follow through with a full-fledged candidacy.

Tancredo, R-Littleton, said he’s aware of the daunting odds he faces going up against bigger-name Republican contenders who have millions more dollars in the bank.

Still, he said he takes heart in the large number of average folks - backers of his hard-line stand against illegal immigration - who have made small contributions averaging $59 on the Team Tancredo web site.

"It’s amazing to me," Tancredo said. "I know we’re going to be a long way from the war chests that are out there. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve got more people that are committed to me and the ideas I represent than a lot of these other guys."

Tancredo put himself in the second-tier of Republican contenders, behind front-runners like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Still, he had set a goal of raising $1 million for his exploratory committee, Tancredo for a Secure America, by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Crossing that goal, "kicks my enthusiasm level up about a million times," Tancredo said in phone interview.

"It just simply means it’s certainly more likely that we will announce I will be a candidate for president," he said.
He’ll make a final decision within two weeks.

In the past, Tancredo has talked about possibly running for the U.S. Senate some day. Earlier this year, after Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland, announced his planned retirement, Tancredo deferred questions about whether he might run for Senate in 2008, saying he hoped former congressman Scott McInnis would run.

On Wednesday, McInnis ended his exploratory Senate run, leaving former congressman Bob Schaffer, state Attorney General John Suthers, radio commentator Dan Caplis and retired Air Force Gen. Bentley Rayburn among those actively considering the contest.

Tancredo said he’s preoccupied with the long-shot White House bid, and McInnis’ departure from the race does not affect his plans.

He praised Schaffer’s conservative credentials, saying he has the "right stuff" to be a good candidate - and that he would support him. But he also said Republicans face a tough task trying to beat the likely Democratic contender, Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs.

"It is going to be one of the toughest races we've had in a long time in Colorado, and one where money will play a huge role," Tancredo said.

"When I look at what is stacked against us, you’ve got one of the most, probably, well-liked members on the political scene in the form of Mark Udall. He is affable, he has a ton of money in the bank now, he will have all the money he could probably want to have."

Tancredo speculated that Udall would benefit from the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008 and Democrats’ strategy of trying to take over the Rocky Mountain West. Plus, Tancredo added, "You have the press who absolutely love Mr. Udall."

"He’s going to start out with so many advantages that you have to wonder who could possibly give him a run for his money and, more than that, win it, especially if they don’t have the dollars," Tancredo said.

So who does Tancredo imagine as the best Republican U.S. Senate contender?

"You find me the perfect match of solid conservative credentials, huge name recognition and a boatload of money and I’d say, ‘There’s our guy or gal,’" Tancredo said. "Barring that, maybe Bob (Schaffer) doesn’t have the money, but he has got the right stuff."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/e ... 81,00.html

The run sounds good, except, as always, the deepest pockets will win the purchase of an election....

But at least Tancredo will force the discussion of the immigration issue onto the national platform for all to hear!

Email just rec'd from Tancredo:

Thursday

March 22, 2007



Dear Friends,


We did it! Today we broke our goal of one million dollars in contributions! I can’t tell you how excited and encouraged I am. The incredible outpouring of support that I have received has honestly astounded me. To know that you will be with me, along with tens of thousands of others, and that we will have the funds to run an effective grass roots campaign is what I needed to know before I made a final decision.



And there is more great news! I have asked my good friend Bay Buchanan to come aboard the campaign and she has agreed to be the campaign’s senior adviser. She’s had many years of experience on the presidential campaign trail--both with President Reagan and her brother Pat. She will be a remarkable asset to my campaign. I wanted you to be the first to know. The press release on this news will go out tomorrow.



I'm off to Iowa for the weekend where immigration is driving the debate. I'll let you know how it goes. In fact I promise to send you regular updates from the trail. And when I can’t, I know Bay will. Thank you for all your help.



My best,

Tom Tancredo



P.S. A note about the e-mail I had sent earlier this evening. The Democrats and the President are going to try to push for yet another amnesty that will provide a path to citizenship to people who have broken the law. They never get it. I want you to know I will be fighting to stop it with all my strength.

Great is'nt it Jean! GOOOOOOOO TOM!

Originally Posted by April

Great is'nt it Jean! GOOOOOOOO TOM!

Hey April!
Go girl!
Go Tom!

That is fantastic!!!!

I think he might be in for a surprise when he gets out there and really starts to meet the public.
We are here Tom!!!!

Give us someone to beleive in!