New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson began a run for the Democratic presidential nomination Sunday, betting that his deep resume 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 today, 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 Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., in the Democrats' top tier.
Richardson joins a group of Democrats running behind the top three that includes Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, as well as former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa.
ADVERTISEMENT
Unlike the other second-tier candidates, however, Richardson's candidacy is an historic one as he seeks to become the first Hispanic president of the United States. Although Richardson said his ethnicity is not a point of emphasis in the campaign, it could help his chances. Hispanics are the largest minority group in America and are becoming increasingly active and influential in the country's politics.
Richardson spent 15 years in Congress before being named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by former President Clinton in 1997. A year later he was appointed energy secretary. Richardson returned to elected office in 2002, winning the New Mexico gubernatorial race. Last fall he cruised to a second term with69 percent of the vote.
Throughout his career in public life, Richardson has also served as a roving diplomat -- dispatched to defuse crises in hot spots like North Korea and Iraq. He spent several days in Sudan last week before returning stateside to make his presidential intentions known.
On Iraq -- the issue which most animates Democratic primary voters -- Richardson has called for a phased withdrawal of American troops to be completed by the end of this year. "There is no military solution," he insisted.
Regardless of the strength of his resume, 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 took41 percent, Obama 17 percent and Edwards 11 percent.
