[1]WASHINGTON (BP)–U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a social conservative who never could climb into the top tier of Republican presidential candidates, is dropping out of the race, sources close to him told the Associated Press Oct. 18.
The Kansas senator is a longtime champion of pro-family causes and one of Washington’s most outspoken pro-life advocates. But the latest USA Today Gallup poll of Republicans nationwide showed him in eighth place at 2 percent.
The most significant blow to his campaign came in August when he finished third in the Iowa Straw Poll behind winner Mitt Romney and second-place finisher Mike Huckabee. Huckabee and Brownback were competing in the state essentially for the same values-based voters and against each other in the poll. (Rudy Giuliani and John McCain did not compete in the poll, and Fred Thompson had not yet entered the race.)
“I know Senator Brownback enjoyed campaigning and meeting new people in talking about ideas for the future of America, but I think it came down to money,” one person close to Brownback told AP.
Brownback raised just under $1 million in the third quarter, compared to Giuliani and Romney, each of whom raised more than $10 million.
During debates Brownback urged his party to continue standing up for the unborn. Giuliani is the only GOP candidate who supports abortion rights.
[2]“I believe that the person that’s going to lead the party will be somebody that is pro-growth and pro-life,” Brownback said at a debate in October. “I think these are two pivotal, key foundation issues that this country needs to stand for.”
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Compiled by Michael Foust, assistant editor of Baptist Press