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Tom Tancredo Withdraws From Governor's Race

DENVER (CBS4)- Former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who put his name in the ring for governor of Colorado last fall, has withdrawn his candidacy. The Republican confirmed the move on Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo (credit: CBS)

Tancredo said although he feels competent to win Republican primary, he sees no path to victory in the gubernatorial general election for him, as a Republican because of lack of money, and doesn't want to be blamed for losing to Rep. Jared Polis, the Democratic front-runner.

However, Tancredo does believe a Republican can win and plans to announce his support for a candidate at a later date.

There are a number of Republicans and Democrats who are still in the running. Last week four Republicans and four Democrats attended a gubernatorial forum hosted by the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry. Tancredo did not participate because he had the flu.

Tancredo, a Republican, has had a storied past with politics in Colorado.

TANCREDO BANNON 10PKG_frame_0
Tom Tancredo (credit: CBS)

He ran for president as a Republican in 2008 and left the race relatively early on, but he is known across the country as one of the nation's most conservative politicians when it comes to immigration policy.

He was elected by voters in Colorado's 6th Congressional Distric to Congress in 1998 and opted against running for re-election after five terms. He made a run for Colorado governor as the American Constitution Party candidate in 2010 after a series of events led him to leave the GOP but he lost out to Democrat John Hickenlooper. In 2014 he ran as a Republican and lost in the primary to Bob Beauprez by approximately 3 points after coming under attack from the Republican Governors Association.

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