Gilmore Drops Out Of GOP Presidential Race

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore ended his long-shot campaign for presidency on Saturday. <br/><br/>The 57-year-old Republican said in a written statement that his late start, near

Saturday, July 14th 2007, 4:38 pm

By: News On 6

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore ended his long-shot campaign for presidency on Saturday.

The 57-year-old Republican said in a written statement that his late start, near the end of April, and the front-loaded primary schedule ``have made it impractical to continue to pursue this path towards further public service.''

``I have come to believe that it takes more than a positive vision for our nation's future to successfully compete for the presidency,'' Gilmore said. ``I believe that it takes years of preparation to put in place both the political and financial infrastructure to contest what now amounts to a one-day national primary in February.''

Gilmore felt there was an opening for a conservative candidate in the Republican field for president in 2008 when he announced he was exploring a run for the White House.

Elected governor of Virginia in 1997, he served the one term allowed by state law. Before that, he was Virginia's attorney general.

President Bush appointed him chairman of the Republican National Committee, a job Gilmore held for about a year. He left the job after Democrats won the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey.

``I'm the type of mainstream Reagan conservative that has always kept his promises,'' Gilmore said when he filed papers early this year to form a presidential exploratory committee.