Warner bows out of White House bid

Mark Warner’s decision to bow out of the early US presidential race leaves a field still crowded with Democrats competing to be the most attractive alternative to front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Fifteen months before the first vote is cast in a presidential primary, the departure of the centrist Democrat and former Virginia governor alters the dynamics of a race still taking shape. The line-up for 2008, however, remains largely the same – Clinton and about a dozen others.

“It’s good for Hillary. Anytime a serious contender drops out that helps the front-runner,” said Steve Elmendorf, the deputy campaign manager for Democrat John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

“Warner would have been, perhaps, the strongest, or certainly one of the strongest candidates, to become the anti-Hillary. This also will help somebody who’s looking at that role.”

Like several other Democrats, Warner manoeuvred to become Clinton’s strongest challenger and used his Forward Together committee to lay the groundwork for a presidential run after leaving the governor’s office in January because of Virginia’s one-term limit.

“I respect his decision. It’s such an intensely personal decision,” Clinton said in Syracuse, New York, during a campaign appearance for her 2006 Senate re-election race.

“He’s been a tremendous public servant, and I hope we haven’t seen the last of him in Democratic politics and on the national scene.”

Other rivals also offered similar praise. Warner’s exit could help some distinguish themselves from the pack.

The field of centrist Democrats from Republican-held states has reduced to Sen. Evan Bayh, a former Indiana governor, and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate in 2004, now is the only Southerner left in the field.

Edwards, Vilsack and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson could be more attractive to voters looking for a candidate who works outside of Washington.

Others expected to run include Kerry, D-Mass., and Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

It’s also possible that Warner’s exit could encourage more Democrats to jump into the mix, such as first-term Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. His appearance in Iowa at an annual Democratic gathering last month stoked talk of a presidential run.

For much of the year, Warner has travelled the country to raise money for and campaign with the party’s candidates in this fall’s congressional election while determining whether to enter the race to succeed President Bush in 2008.

“This has been a remarkable journey and I’ve got no regrets at all,” Warner said in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended a fundraiser for state legislative candidates just hours after announcing he would not run for president.

Considered a serious contender, Warner leaves behind what he called “a very strong field”. He said he would endorse whoever gets the nomination and would not rule out endorsing a candidate before then.

“I will support them,” Warner said. “At some point I may weigh in and get involved with one of these candidates. But that’s a decision made far down the line for me.”