Tancredo out of presidential race and endorsing Romney

Republican presidential hopeful, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Co., leaves the podium after announcing that he will withdraw from the 2008 presidential race and throw his support behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Saying it was "apparent to me that I cannot win this race," Rep. Tom Tancredo this afternoon announced that he is withdrawing from the GOP presidential race and endorsing Mitt Romney.

He said the former Massachusetts governor would do three things: secure the borders, prosecute employers who hire illegal immigrants and send illegal immigrants in the U.S. now back home.

"We have done too much," Tancredo said. "We have come too far. The stakes are too high."

Tancredo pointed out that his presidential run was able to draw attention to his signature issue.

He pointed out that The Economist, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, “and even The New York Times have grudgingly acknowledged that this camp forced immigration to the front of the debate.”

Speaking to a roomful of media and a small group of about 20 supporters at the downtown Marriott here, Tancredo started Thursday's speech by saying he got into the race to highlight the threat that illegal immigration poses to the country.

"This message has fallen on deaf ears in the highest office in the land," he said.

He said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's success - he leads the most recent polls - was important in deciding to leave the race two weeks before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses and to throw his support behind Romney instead.

Tancredo said he met with Romney this morning. While he wouldn't discuss specifics of their conversation, he allowed: "We went through a lot of issues. It was a lengthy discussion."

He said he didn't persuade Romney to change his position on any issues, "but what we did was clarify in my own mind" that Romney was the best candidate.

Romney did not offer to pay any of Tancredo's campaign debts, and the congressman said he had federal matching funds that he would have to return as a result of pulling out before the Iowa caucuses.

In the end, Tancredo sounded an optimistic theme about his campaign, which was launched in April on an Iowa radio program.

"Who would have thought this could have happened six months ago or a year ago," he said. "For the same reason I launched this campaign, I must end it."

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