Candidates Who Vowed To "Stay in the Race" Until the Convention…

March 31, 2008

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Over the last week Hillary Clinton and her campaign staff has made it a point to tell anyone who would listen that they full intend on “staying in the race until the convention.” This message, from Clinton, has not carried over into the mainstream media and as I was reading yet another article regarding Hillary’s recent declaration of commitment to stay in the race “all the way until the convention” something dawned on me. About fifteen minutes later, and a couple Google searches complete, it suddenly became crystal clear.

Throughout the 2008 primary cycle there has been a pattern among candidates from both parties, and that is that the majority of them make exuberant claims along the lines of “not going anywhere”, and “staying in the race until the convention.” The common denominator though is that once a candidate mutters that phrase, they are all but finished. Here is an outline proving my theory regarding candidates vowing to stay in the race all the way until the convention and the unfortunate reality that soon follows:

Feb 5: Romney Vows to Stay in GOP Race-

“Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney pledged to fight all the way to the Republican nominating convention this summer if necessary, despite being overpowered by John McCain in Super Tuesday contests.”

Feb 4: Huckabee vows to stay in race-

“WASHINGTON — Mike Huckabee hasn’t won a Republican presidential contest in a month. The result: money is tighter, his staff is smaller and he can’t seem to get the attention he once did. Still, he says he’s sticking around for the long haul — well past Tuesday’s coast-to-coast primaries and caucuses if need be.”

Jan 6: Edwards vows to stay in race to convention -

“WASHINGTON (CNN) Democrat John Edwards said Sunday he will stay in the presidential race through the party’s convention in late August, even if he fails to win any of the early presidential primary states. “This is the call of my life, and I have no intention of stopping,” Edwards said on ABC’s This Week. “I’m in this through the convention and to the White House.” Asked specifically if he’d remain a candidate even if he failed to garner a win over the next month, Edwards said, “Absolutely.”

Jan 10: Bill Richardson Vows to Stay in the race until the convention-

Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, NH: Bill Richardson vows to continue his campaign into the West all the way until the convention. Where he will fight to get the troops out of Iraq and beat “No Child Left Behind.” About a week later Richardson announced he was in fact dropping out of the Democratic primary.

Jan 24: Giuliani Vows to Stay in the Race-

BOCA RATON, Fla. Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has staked his candidacy on the Florida primary only to see his standing in statewide polls slip, said here Thursday afternoon that he would stay in the race even if he loses on Jan. 29.

Clearly you can see that the promise of “staying it until the convention” seemingly appears to be a campaign death rattle opposed to any sort of rallying cry. For each of these one time presidential hopefuls from Giuliani, to Edwards, and Huckabee to Richardson, their desire exceeded their campaigns capacity, and with a looming financial situation which is worsening by the day, one may question just how much longer Hillary can realistically stay in this thing.

Now do I think Hillary’s exit will be as quick as those above was upon their promise “to stay in it all the way”? No, probably not. That said, I do believe the Democrats will no doubt have their set candidate –Senator Barack Obama– no later then the first week in June, right around the Puerto Rico primary.