Richardson Drops Out, No Endorsement

Thu, January 10, 2008 - 3:19 PM

Bill Richardson is out, and aide says the New Mexico governor has “no plans to offer an endorsement.”
The resume candidate, international diplomat, and western governor announced the end of his presidential bid from the rotunda of his adopted home-state’s capitol building this afternoon, two days after finishing a distant fourth-place with five-percent of the vote in the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
The New Mexico Governor, whose last and only electoral loss came in a 1980 congressional bid, will turn his attention back to more local affairs. The New Mexico State Legislature convenes January 15.
But the Richardson rumor mill will continue in national political circles. As the only Hispanic candidate in the 2008 race, and a former Secretary of Energy and U.N. Ambassador, the question is what Richardson will do now. His term as governor expires in 2011 and state law precludes from seeking a third 4-year term.
Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., a long-time Richardson ally, shared the stage with Richardson today in Santa Fe, adding to this sub-plot: Udall is running for the vacant U.S. senate seat that could have been an easy fall-back campaign for Richardson once his loss on the presidential side appeared imminent.
When Udall announced his Senate bid, his stepdaughter was running Richardson’s field operations. Conventional wisdom would say if Richardson wanted to keep a potential Senate bid open this cycle, Udall would not have entered that race.
Anybody looking for a V.P. or Secretary of State? Richardson will enjoy that speculation now through 2009.
--Neil H. Simon