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Brownback quits White House race Brownback quits White House race
(about 3 hours later)
Republican Sam Brownback has dropped out of the race for the 2008 US presidential elections.Republican Sam Brownback has dropped out of the race for the 2008 US presidential elections.
The senator from Kansas, who is a firm opponent of abortion and same-sex marriages, had failed to attract significant backing or funding.The senator from Kansas, who is a firm opponent of abortion and same-sex marriages, had failed to attract significant backing or funding.
His campaign account totalled only $94,000, and polls showed he only had a few percentage points of support. His announcement comes as other Republican hopefuls are addressing conservative Christians in Washington.
"My yellow-brick road came just short of the White House this time," said Mr Brownback, announcing his withdrawal. The liberal social views of current frontrunner Rudolph Giuliani make him unacceptable to many such voters.
Some evangelical leaders are threatening to support a third party's candidate if the former New York mayor gets the Republican nomination.
Press blamed
Mr Brownback announced his withdrawal from the race, with his campaign finances totalling only $94,000, and polls showing he only had a few percentage points of support.
"My yellow-brick road came just short of the White House this time," said Mr Brownback.
Brownback had based his campaign on conservative Christian values
He has said he will not run for the US Senate again, and is expected to run for Kansas governor in 2010 when his second term in Washington expires.
The two-term US senator said negative press coverage had not helped his campaign's chances.
"We've really been held (back) early on by the media saying 'we don't think he can do it,'" said Mr Brownback on the steps of his home state's capitol in Topeka, Kansas.
A staunch Roman Catholic, the 51-year-old father-of-five had billed himself as a defender of family values.
He had pledged to "rebuild the family and renew the culture" by opposing gay marriage and abortion.
Viewed by some commentators as a potential darling of America's Christian conservatives, Mr Brownback was expected to perform well in Iowa.
He had focused much of his campaigning time and funds on the state ahead of its August straw poll.
Aiming to finish second, he came in third behind former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, dealing a serious blow to his candidacy.
'Values Voters'
The so-called Values Voters, conservative Christians whose support was crucial to the re-election of George W Bush, are meeting in Washington for two days.
At the start of the meeting, the former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson got a standing ovation when he said he would spend his first hour in the White House praying in the Oval Office.
Another contender, Senator John McCain, stressed his long-held anti-abortion views.
Mr Giuliani will make his case on Saturday.