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Braun to Quit Presidential Bid,
Back Dean
Ex-Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun to Drop Democratic Presidential Bid, Endorse Howard Dean
by
The Associated Press
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Democratic presidential hopeful Carol Mosely Braun answers a question during the Brown and Black Forum in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 11, 2004. The former Ill. Sen. Braun, whose presidential campaign never got off the ground, will drop out of the race and endorse front-runner Howard Dean, campaign officials said Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004.
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) |
FORT DODGE, Iowa Jan. 15 — Democrat Carol Moseley Braun intends to endorse rival Howard Dean after deciding to abandon a long-shot presidential bid of her own that failed to generate widespread enthusiasm or money.
The only woman in the nine-person field, Braun planned to appear with Dean Thursday afternoon and make the endorsement official, said Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi. Dean said Wednesday that he welcomed the endorsement of the former senator from Illinois.
"She's a principled person. We just hit it off. I like her a lot," Dean told reporters. "It's going to be a big help to us."
Trippi said Braun approached Dean after a recent debate and told him she was considering leaving the race and backing him. One of two black candidates in the campaign, Braun is giving Dean her endorsement even as he has faced questions about his record on race issues, including his lack of minority Cabinet members during his five terms as Vermont governor.
Braun jumped to Dean's defense in a debate last Sunday when Al Sharpton, the other black candidate in the Democratic field, accused the former governor of trivializing race issues.
Braun never broke out of single digits in national and state polls and failed to qualify for several state ballots.
And though she had been endorsed by two influential women's groups the National Organization for Women and the National Women's Political Caucus that support failed to translate into financial support. Braun struggled to raise money while running up thousands of dollars in debt. She also missed the deadline to file paperwork for the initial round of federal campaign money, delaying for several weeks the receipt of any federal matching funds, expected to amount to several hundred thousand dollars,
Even her own campaign manager, Patricia Ireland, had said publicly that there was no way Braun could win the nomination.
She leaves the race after having little impact on it, except for some bright moments in debates. Braun often stressed during the campaign that she was running for president because it was time to "take the 'Men Only' sign off the White House door."
Rival Joe Lieberman offered words of praise for Braun, but little comment about her endorsement of Dean, calling her "an able and eloquent person, an honorable person. When I'm president of the United States, I'm going to convince Carol Moseley Braun to work in my administration."
Dennis Kucinich said, "I'll miss her," and expressed the hope that she persuades Dean on a single-payer, universal health care policy.
The run for president also may have helped Braun rehabilitate her image. Elected to the Senate in 1992 during the "Year of the Woman," Braun lost the seat after one term due to allegations about her ethics and improper campaign spending.
Braun had also fallen under criticism for meeting in 1996 with Gen. Sani Abacha, the late dictator of Nigeria who had been accused of myriad human rights violations, during a trip to the country for a friend's memorial. She did not tell the State Department in advance, which she later said she regretted not doing.
After losing the seat, President Clinton named her ambassador to New Zealand.
Braun is the second Democratic presidential candidate to pull out of the race before the start of voting on Jan. 19 with the Iowa caucuses. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida withdrew from the race on Oct. 6.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
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