{"id":2715,"date":"2008-01-08T23:39:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T05:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/richardson-considers-whether-to-stay-in-the-race\/"},"modified":"2008-01-08T23:39:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-09T05:39:00","slug":"richardson-considers-whether-to-stay-in-the-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/richardson-considers-whether-to-stay-in-the-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson considers whether to stay in the race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> said in a speech following tonight\u2019s New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> primary that he\u2019s continuing in the presidential race, but the reality, sources confirm, is less certain than what he says. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe head out West, and the fight goes on, and we will continue,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cWe will continue to raise the question of getting all our troops out of Iraq<\/st1:country-region> and America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> becoming a clean-energy nation and getting rid of No Child Left Behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Richardson, his wife and some campaign staffers are headed back to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> tonight. While here, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> does have some official business to take care of \u2013 making an appointment to the state Senate and preparing for the legislative session \u2013 but sources confirm that he\u2019s also going to reassess whether he should stay in the race.<\/p>\n

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After finishing at 2 percent in Iowa<\/st1:state> and 5 percent in New Hampshire<\/st1:state>, there are signs that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign may not continue. He laid off a number of Iowa<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> staffers and cancelled some events leading up to the New Hampshire Primary. He currently has no scheduled events in Nevada<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> 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<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> to campaign.<\/p>\n

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His campaign blog hasn\u2019t been updated since Friday, and there was no news release following tonight\u2019s loss. As of the publishing of this article, Richardson<\/st1:city>\u2019s Web site remains geared toward New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. Even before the completion of the Iowa Caucus last week, the Web site\u2019s focus switched to courting voters in the Granite<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. <\/p>\n

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Richardson<\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign has little money left, and his 5-percent showing in New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> isn\u2019t going to help him raise any more.<\/p>\n

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During tonight\u2019s speech, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> left out an important word at an inopportune time.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd 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,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd 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\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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Richardson<\/st1:city> didn\u2019t finish that statement, and paused to let people cheer before telling the crowd that he was returning to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> tonight.<\/p>\n

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The next what? Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s speech wasn\u2019t well-covered by the networks, and I haven\u2019t seen video of that moment, but you can listen to it by clicking here<\/a>. You can watch excerpts from his speech (but not that excerpt) by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Legislative session may be a factor<\/span><\/p>\n

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Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has a lot to consider. Many Democrats I\u2019ve spoken with wonder what reason he would have to stay in the race. He\u2019s clearly not going to win. He isn\u2019t expected to do much better in Nevada<\/st1:state> than he did in New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, and he\u2019s at single digits in the most recent polls<\/a> in the first western state to participate in the Democratic presidential nomination process.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the 30-day legislative session starts Jan. 15, and the state Senate is ready to go on the offense against Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. The governor and his staff have been distracted by his campaign while Senate leaders have prepared themselves for battle. What will happen if Richardson<\/st1:city> isn\u2019t in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>? He\u2019ll likely lose more power.<\/p>\n

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If he stays in the race through Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, Richardson<\/st1:city> risks losing national stature and returning to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> to find that he is no longer calling the shots.<\/p>\n

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Jan. 15 \u2013 next Tuesday \u2013 is a critical day. Richardson<\/st1:city> is scheduled to give the state-of-the-state address in the early afternoon, and there\u2019s a debate for Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> that evening.<\/p>\n

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He could stay in the race through Jan. 19 without missing much of the session. In fact, Nevada<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s caucus is on the first Saturday of the legislative session, and he could probably afford to be out of the state that day.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not going to predict the governor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Update, Jan. 9, 8:15 a.m.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s video of Richardson<\/st1:City><\/st1:place>\u2019s entire speech. You can see when watching it that he simply stopped after saying, \u201cAre we gonna win the election and be the next\u2026\u201d I wonder what he was thinking at that moment.<\/p>\n

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