Democrat withdraws from Presidential race
Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich announced yesterday he is dropping out of the 2008 Presidential race.
Kucinich will make an official statement regarding his decision today. He also stated he will not endorse any candidates in the Democratic race.
A former Mayor of Cleveland, he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1996.
Kucinich ran for the Presidential nomination in 2004, but failed to carry any states in the Democratic primaries and lost out to John Kerry for the nomination.
In a December 2006 speech in Cleveland, Kucinich announced his intention to run for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination on a platform that included universal health care and the immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
Kucinich also called for the legalisation of gay marriage, abolishment of the death penalty and a repeal of the US Patriot Act.
Kucinich was often criticised for his ‘out of the box’ views and was ridiculed in a Democratic debate saying he had once seen a UFO.
Supporters of his campaign included such celebrities as lesbian rock icon Melissa Etheridge and her wife Tammy Lynn Etheridge, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Pean, Woody Harrelson and Edward Norton.
After his loss in the 2008 New Hampshire primaries, Kucinich asked for a recount based on discrepancies between machine-counted ballots and hand-counted ballots.
Kucinich stated he wanted to make sure “100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted.”
Kucinich was refused a place in the January 15th 2008 Democratic Presidential debate on MSNBC.
A court ruling that the debate could not go forward without including Kucinich was overruled on appeal.
The Ohio Representative has failed to show strong support in any 2008 primaries or caucuses.
Kucinich failed to place among the top contenders in the Iowa caucus. In the Nevada caucus, he placed fourth with less than one percent of the vote.
In the Michigan primary, he placed third with four percent of the vote, but Barack Obama and John Edwards did not compete in that primary.
Yesterday Kucinich said in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he will be dropping out of the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination.
CNN also reported Kucinich does not intend to give his endorsement to any Democratic nominee. An official announcement is expected today.
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