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New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson |
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (By Chris Cillizza, Washington Post) January 21, 2007 — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson began a run for the Democratic presidential nomination this morning, betting that his deep résumé and Hispanic heritage will boost his chances in a field already stocked with better-known candidates.
"I am taking this step because we have to repair the damage that's been done to our country over the last six years," Richardson wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "Our reputation in the world is diminished, our economy has languished, and civility and common decency in government has perished."
Richardson also announced his intentions -- in Spanish and English -- on his campaign Web site. Richardson will file paperwork establishing a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, but will not formally announce his bid until New Mexico's legislative session ends in March.
His announcement comes just one day after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) joined the race and less than a week after Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made his intentions clear.
Polling done in early voting states like Iowa shows Clinton and Obama along with former North Carolina senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) as the top tier on the Democratic side. Richardson joins a group running behind those top three that includes: Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Christopher J.Dodd (Conn.) as well as former governor Tom Vilsack (Iowa) among others.
While acknowledging that Richardson is not yet on the level of the front-runners, his supporters argue that his experiences both in an out of public office will distinguish him.
He spent 15 years in Congress before being named Ambassador to the United Nations by President Bill Clinton in 1997. A year later he was appointed secretary of energy.
Richardson returned to elected office in 2002, winning an open seat race for governor. Last fall he cruised to a second term with 69 percent.
Throughout his career in public life, Richardson has also served as a roving diplomat -- dispatched to defuse crises in such places as North Korea and Iraq. He spent several days in Sudan last week before returning stateside to make his presidential intentions known.
"I'm a negotiator," Richardson said in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal. "I can bring people through dialogue to reduce their differences."
Regardless of his résumé, Richardson faces a rocky path to the nomination. In the new Washington Post/ABC News poll, just 1 percent of Democratic voters said they would support Richardson in a hypothetical primary race. By contrast, Clinton took 41 percent, Obama 17 percent, and Edwards 11 percent.
