Tom Tancredo Leaves Republican Prez Campaign, Endorses Mitt Romney 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 20, 2007
Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) — GOP hopeful Tom Tancredo made it official on Thursday by dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination and throwing his support behind Mitt Romney. Tancredo, a pro-life congressman from Colorado, had made illegal immigration his top issue and hoped his pro-life views would help him catch fire.
During a press conference, Tancredo said he dropped out so candidates who are not as harsh on illegal immigration wouldn’t benefit from his staying in the race — referring to Mike Huckabee and John McCain.
"I fear remaining in this race, one which I cannot win, would contribute to the nomination of one of these candidates," he said.
He said he endorsed Romney primarily on the illegal immigration issue and cited actions the former Massachusetts governor had taken that pleased him.
Tancredo also mentioned Huckabee’s recent surge in the polls as a contributing factor to his decision to leave the GOP presidential race.
Without the same kind of fundraising and campaign apparatus as other candidates, and with Huckabee, Romney and Fred Thompson drawing most of the support from pro-life voters, Tancredo never developed any traction.
Tancredo was stuck at around one or two percent in national polls and surveys in leading primary states. At the high end, the most recent Des Moines Register poll of Iowa voters showed him getting six percent there.
This fall, Tancredo, who has a 100 percent pro-life voting record on both abortion and embryonic stem cell research in Congress, said he would not run for re-election to his Denver-area congressional seat.
Instead, Tancredo may seek the Senate seat of retiring pro-life Sen. Wayne Allard in what could turn out to be one of the most competitive Congressional battles during the 2008 election.
