Bauer ends White House bidGOP presidential field narrows to four
February 4, 2000
Web posted at: 12:47 p.m. EST (1747 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Saying he would remain in the political arena, GOP conservative activist Gary Bauer officially ended his presidential bid Friday, after a poor showing in both the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses.
"Today I'm withdrawing from the contest for the Republican presidential nomination," Bauer said during a press conference at a Washington hotel. "I do that feeling good about the effort that has been made and the debate that has been set."
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 Gary Bauer's withdrawal speech.
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Bauer finished with only 1 percent of the vote in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Bauer returned to Washington from New Hampshire on Wednesday, saying he needed to weigh his options before deciding if he should move on to South Carolina, which holds a key Republican primary February 17. On Thursday, Bauer's campaign called a news conference for Friday morning -- campaign sources made it clear then that Bauer would withdraw.
Bauer declined to endorse any of his former opponents Friday, although he congratulated Arizona Sen. John McCain for his "incredible showing" in New Hampshire, calling him "a good and decent man." And, he said Texas Gov. George W. Bush "has put together a tremendous national campaign."
The longtime activist and president of Washington's Family Research Council prefaced his withdrawal announcement Friday by reiterating the issues that were central to his campaign -- his strong opposition to abortion, his concerns about trade ties with China, and his overarching pro-family themes.
"I'm not going to endorse anybody until I see one of these candidates move toward the issues that I've outlined today," he said.
"Almost all of my competitors suggest that they too stand for these ideas, but as I've pointed out in the debates, the devil is in the details," Bauer added.
"There's one important thing that a president does, and that is make appointments to the courts," Bauer said when asked about the remaining candidates' positions on abortion, and how they would effect any endorsement he might make. "The other major competitors in the race have been unwilling to make that commitment (to appoint anti-abortion judges)."
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Gary Bauer announces Friday he will end his GOP presidential bid.
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Bauer said that while he would withhold offering any immediate support, "those that are still in the race seem very interested in my endorsement." He added that "any one of them would be a better president than the likely nominee of the Democratic Party."
The staunchly conservative Bauer said he made the decision to withdraw as he watched election returns during Tuesday night's New Hampshire primary. He earned 1 percent of the New Hampshire primary vote, and after underperforming there and in the Iowa caucuses -- where he won only 8 percent -- he said it was time to drop out of the race.
"If I was a symbolic candidate, I would have stayed in the race," he said. "I was in it to actually get the nomination, and when it became clear to me that I was not going to be able to do that, it seemed that the better part of valor would be to move aside."
In the days before the New Hampshire primary, as it looked more likely he would finish last, Bauer insisted he would stay in the race. "I plan on going to the (Republican National) Convention in Philadelphia," he said Monday.
But every remaining GOP candidate has had more success at drawing conservatives than Bauer.
New Hampshire exit polls show that Bauer drew only 1 percent of the vote from GOP voters who considered themselves "somewhat conservative," and only 3 percent from those who listed themselves as "very conservative." McCain, the New Hampshire winner, drew 45 percent of the vote from "somewhat conservative" voters and 21 percent from "very conservative" voters.
Bauer's decision means he no longer will be able to dog Texas Gov. George W. Bush at debates about whether Bush would pledge to select a "pro-life" running mate and appoint anti-abortion judges to the federal bench. His questions to Bush on the subject had become a near-certainty at debates. Bush has responded by saying he would select a running mate who likes him, and appoint judges who would strictly interpret the Constitution in their rulings.
Bush, speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon in Delaware, said he had spoken to Bauer since the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, and that Bauer had conveyed to him that he was thinking of leaving the race.
Bush also said that he didn't anticipate a major change in the dynamics of
the race with Bauer gone, and dismissed the notion that Bauer's criticism of
his position on abortion rights in the many GOP debates may have hurt him among
social conservatives. Bush said his record as governor of Texas was proof of
his commitment to the "pro-life" cause.
Bauer said Friday he hoped to "remain a major player in the days and weeks ahead," and would be looking at all of the alternatives. "I think we've moved this debate a great deal. "I believe continually that I can make my own message and deliver my own message. I think it's amazing that I outlasted some incredibly big names."
Elizabeth Dole, a former Labor Secretary in the Bush administration, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Education Secretary Lamar Alexander and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch have all dropped out of the GOP presidential race.
Bauer's departure from the once-crowded field leaves only four major candidates in the GOP race: Bush, Forbes, Alan Keyes and McCain.
Of the remaining candidates, Bauer noted that "one is the son of a former president, one the son of an admiral, one the son of a tycoon, and I'm the son of a janitor. I think I've done real well. I'm the son of a janitor."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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