The New York Times-20080125-Kucinich to Drop Bid and Focus On Re-election
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Kucinich to Drop Bid and Focus On Re-election
Representative Dennis J. Kucinich has decided to end his long-shot presidential bid, thinning the Democratic field, and allowing him to focus on a contested race for re-election in his Ohio Congressional district.
In an interview with The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mr. Kucinich said Thursday that he would hold a news conference Friday in Cleveland to announce that he was transitioning out of the presidential campaign.
Mr. Kucinich, who campaigned on a strong antiwar message, was never able to gain much traction in the polls. He was excluded from the recent Democratic debates in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina as networks tightened the rules for participation. The televised debates had been the main venue for getting out his campaign's message.
Mr. Kucinich, a former mayor of Cleveland and a six-term congressman, has a tough primary fight on his hands in Ohio's 10th Congressional District. Four other Democrats are trying to defeat him on March 4.
One of his rivals, Joe Cimperman, a member of the Cleveland City Council, has been running commercials calling Mr. Kucinich a part-time congressman more interested in seeking higher office. And Mr. Kucinich recently posted an urgent personal appeal for contributions on his Congressional re-election Web site.
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Kucinich often noted that he was the only Democrat who had voted against authorizing the Iraq war. In Congress he led a drive to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, and this week, promised to do the same against President Bush.
Mr. Kucinich ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. He told The Plain Dealer on Thursday that he would not endorse another Democrat in the presidential primary.
[Illustration]PHOTO: Dennis J. Kucinich.