The 2008 presidential campaign of Tom Tancredo, a Congressman from Colorado began on April 2, 2007 with a formal announcement. The campaign garnered grassroots support and endorsements from conservative Republicans concerned about illegal immigration and border security. However, Tancredo remained low in the polls and was criticized for his nativist campaign, which had been described as "single-issued." Tancredo stated that he probably would not win the nomination but hoped his campaign would bring forth more debate on his issue of concern, immigration. On December 20, 2007 Tancredo withdrew from the presidential race, and endorsed Mitt Romney.
Campaign development
Prior to his announcement early in 2007, draft movements sprung to try to convince Congressman Tancredo to run for President of the United States. Tancredo responded to the draft efforts by stating that he would only start a campaign if a candidate already in the race did not extensively address the issue of Immigration and stay committed to conservative principles. After Tancredo's announcement on April 2, 2007, he immediately began campaigning in the strategically important state of New Hampshire, making his first appearance at a meeting and a speech in Hudson and Nashua on April 4. Following this, Tancredo campaigned in the first caucus state of Iowa on April 14 at a fundraiser in Des Moines. Tancredo made over 90 campaign appearances in the state of Iowa (more than any other) and appeared in Des Moines five times. He appeared in New Hampshire approximately 35 times and appeared sporadically in other states in the same time span.
Until June, the campaign never took off in the polls nor in funds and received little media attention, with the exception of the May 15 GOP debate in South Carolina. However, Tancredo was given an opportunity to discuss immigration and attack the Bush administration and fellow Republican members of Congress at a GOP debate in New Hampshire on June 5, 2007. His criticism was directed mostly at top tiered candidate John McCain for his support of the failed "Amnesty bill." But throughout the night, he continually criticized the policies of the Bush administration, which he labeled as "liberal." When asked what President Bush's role would be in a Tancredo administration, he reflected on a time in 2003 when he was told by Karl Rove to "[not] darken the doorstep of the White House" because of his criticism of the president. Tancredo concluded that President Bush would be given the same command if he ever became president. During the debate in regards to immigration and Republican members of Congress, Tancredo said the following:
As July approached and came to its close, Tancredo's standing improved somewhat with the looming Ames Straw Poll. His strategy to focus on Iowa continued, and the number of grassroots supporters in the state increased. On July 31, the campaign developed an interesting new strategy, offering a trip to Washington, D.C., and a tour of the capitol to anyone who brought 25 Tancredo supporters to the straw poll. On the day before, supporters in Iowa distributed T-shirts which read "I'm a Member of Tom's Army Against Amnesty." Interviewed supporters were asked why they supported the candidate, they replied, "He really has the concerns of America at heart, he's concerned about the culture of America itself. What's happening to the bedrock of American culture." Tancredo finished in fourth place at the Ames Straw poll with over 14% of the vote. It was won by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
On August 31, Tancredo shifted momentarily to a new issue. On the two-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, he called for funds to be withdrawn and federal aid be cut off for the recovery effort. He remarked that it was time, "the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station." The move was perhaps a step for the candidate to woo fiscal conservatives and advocates for states' rights, commenting that "at some point, state and local officials and individuals have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative, the mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end."