Gilmore Ends Bid For White House

In the meantime, he said, he will start a political action committee in the hope of influencing November's state legislative elections. "I would like to see the Republican majority retained, if possible," he said.

As a presidential candidate, Gilmore hardly made a blip on the national political radar. He never drew more than a percentage point or two of support in national polls, and most people still do not know him, despite his participation in three debates.

But he had his moments.

During the second debate, it was Gilmore, more than any candidate, who lashed out at the three Republican front-runners for not being conservative enough. He called them "Rudy McRomney," a clever put-down aimed at former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Later, Gilmore tried to break from the pack by calling on Bush in an open letter to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

"The least bad option, if you will, is a limited deliberate drawdown of our military men and women and a redeployment of the forces," he wrote, adding that the troops should go to bases in Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, from which they could launch operations against terrorists.

The letter received only a little attention, but Gilmore cited it as a proud moment.

"I think that I've offered some good ideas," he said. "It's been a good experience, and I'm glad that I ran."