Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) Despite barely moving the needle in polls and in fundraising, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore told WMAL he is “absolutely in it for the long haul” as he continues his run for the Republican nomination for President.
“The experience I have, the specific proposals I have put forward, and the mission I feel for the people of the United States will come through,” Gilmore said. “I’m staying in the race because I should be the President. Now the question is, politically, can we get our message across and rise up in the recognition of the American people?”
Gilmore recently announced his New Hampshire Director, Virginia State Senator Sam Cataldo, but is keeping his staff slim otherwise. “We do not, at this point, have a million-dollar-a-month, 50-100 person staff. We are deliberately not doing that.”
Gilmore has been funneling his own money into the campaign, according to recent campaign filings. He has spent $43,000 of his own funds, which represents nearly half of all his campaign contributions at $106,000. Those filings say he has spent $71,000, most of which going to the $40,000 filing fee in South Carolina.
He blamed his poor showing in polls his just getting into the race “a few weeks ago.” His candidacy was announced on July 30. He also referred to the press only covering other candidates. “We have Donald Trump basically talking about himself, and he knows nothing about homeland security or terrorism that I can discern.” Gilmore said this race seems to be all about name recognition,” which is why a person who has run a reality show for ten years is at the top of the polls.”
Asked how his legacy as Virginia’s Governor translates to the campaign trail, Gilmore touted his tax record. “As Governor, I kept my word. I cut taxes. It was intended to help regular people, which it did.” He said the issue that defines his candidacy is “the necessity of putting together a program to actually grow the economy,” saying Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have “a lot of audacity and gall to stand up there on the stage and suggest that their solutions are good for the American people when their proposals have been what’s hurting this country.”
Gilmore maintained that his campaign is making progress in name recognition, saying he’s made 11 trips to New Hampshire this year. “It isn’t about me. It isn’t about whether I succeed or what poll number I have, or name recognition, or whether I get on Saturday Night Live like Trump. What does matter is whether or not we can actually make a difference for the American people. That is something I can do.”
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