Gov. Bill Richardson said in a speech following tonight’s New Hampshire primary that he’s continuing in the presidential race, but the reality, sources confirm, is less certain than what he says.
“We head out West, and the fight goes on, and we will continue,” Richardson said. “We will continue to raise the question of getting all our troops out of Iraq and America becoming a clean-energy nation and getting rid of No Child Left Behind.”
Richardson, his wife and some campaign staffers are headed back to New Mexico tonight. While here, Richardson does have some official business to take care of – making an appointment to the state Senate and preparing for the legislative session – but sources confirm that he’s also going to reassess whether he should stay in the race.
After finishing at 2 percent in Iowa and 5 percent in New Hampshire, there are signs that Richardson’s campaign may not continue. He laid off a number of Iowa staffers and cancelled some events leading up to the New Hampshire Primary. He currently has no scheduled events in Nevada in advance of the Jan. 19 caucus. I received no response when I e-mailed a campaign spokeswoman to ask when the governor would travel to Nevada to campaign.
His campaign blog hasn’t been updated since Friday, and there was no news release following tonight’s loss. As of the publishing of this article, Richardson’s Web site remains geared toward New Hampshire. Even before the completion of the Iowa Caucus last week, the Web site’s focus switched to courting voters in the Granite State.
Richardson’s campaign has little money left, and his 5-percent showing in New Hampshire isn’t going to help him raise any more.
During tonight’s speech, Richardson left out an important word at an inopportune time.
“And so we know that from the results tonight there is not gonna be any premature coronation. This race is going on and on and on,” he said. “And as we head out West, the fight goes on. Are we gonna take our country back? Are we gonna win the election and be the next…”
Richardson didn’t finish that statement, and paused to let people cheer before telling the crowd that he was returning to New Mexico tonight.
The next what? Richardson’s speech wasn’t well-covered by the networks, and I haven’t seen video of that moment, but you can listen to it by clicking here. You can watch excerpts from his speech (but not that excerpt) by clicking here.
Legislative session may be a factor
Richardson has a lot to consider. Many Democrats I’ve spoken with wonder what reason he would have to stay in the race. He’s clearly not going to win. He isn’t expected to do much better in Nevada than he did in New Hampshire, and he’s at single digits in the most recent polls in the first western state to participate in the Democratic presidential nomination process.
Meanwhile, the 30-day legislative session starts Jan. 15, and the state Senate is ready to go on the offense against Richardson. The governor and his staff have been distracted by his campaign while Senate leaders have prepared themselves for battle. What will happen if Richardson isn’t in New Mexico? He’ll likely lose more power.
If he stays in the race through Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, Richardson risks losing national stature and returning to New Mexico to find that he is no longer calling the shots.
Jan. 15 – next Tuesday – is a critical day. Richardson is scheduled to give the state-of-the-state address in the early afternoon, and there’s a debate for Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada that evening.
He could stay in the race through Jan. 19 without missing much of the session. In fact, Nevada’s caucus is on the first Saturday of the legislative session, and he could probably afford to be out of the state that day.
I’m not going to predict the governor’s next move, but I will tell you that well-placed sources believe he will stay in the race through Jan. 19 but not Feb. 5. Others think he has no reason to continue in the race another day.
Update, Jan. 9, 8:15 a.m.
Here’s video of Richardson’s entire speech. You can see when watching it that he simply stopped after saying, “Are we gonna win the election and be the next…” I wonder what he was thinking at that moment.
Gov. Bill Richardson said in a speech following tonight’s