Republican Sam Brownback will drop out of the 2008 presidential campaign on Friday, people close to the Kansas senator told NBC News Thursday.
Trouble raising money was a main reason for his decision, said one person close to Brownback, who requested anonymity because the candidate had not yet announced his plans.
Brownback, a lesser-known conservative contender, is expected announce his withdrawal in Topeka, Kan.
The senator is widely expected to seek the Kansas governor’s office in 2010, when his term—his second—expires. He had promised in his first Senate campaign to serve no more than two terms.
Brownback had raised a little more than $800,000 from July through September and around $4 million overall. He is eligible for $2 million in federal matching funds.
Besides money, Brownback’s support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants hurt him in Iowa, an early-voting state that has struggled to provide education, medical care and other services as the number of immigrants has more than doubled since 1990.
Brownback spent a good chunk of his money on the Iowa straw poll, an early test of strength whose significance diminished after Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani decided not to compete. He finished third behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
People close to Brownback said it was unlikely he would endorse another candidate on Friday.
It’s uncertain how much weight a Brownback endorsement would carry. While he is a favorite of religious conservatives, he failed to become their consensus candidate and ranks low in national polls and state surveys.
Still, a nod from Brownback could bolster the conservative credentials of a candidate such as McCain or Huckabee.
Those two rivals appear most likely to receive Brownback’s support. Brownback and McCain are close Senate comrades and have refrained from criticizing one another, instead assailing Romney.
While McCain has a voting record similar to Brownback’s on cultural issues, McCain prompts skepticism on the right flank of the party because he isn’t a high-profile crusader against abortion rights and gay marriage. Brownback’s backing could signal to Christian conservatives that they can trust McCain.
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher, is another favorite of religious conservatives. But like Brownback, he has struggled to get that voting bloc to rally around him with political support. He, too, could benefit from Brownback’s backing.
It’s harder to imagine any other Republican in the field getting a Brownback nod, although former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is a possibility. The Kansas senator has bitterly criticized Romney, and Giuliani is detested by the religious right for his abortion rights and gay rights positions.